Burnt Memories of the Past
by sOdAPopgrl133
Summary: Eve cannot forget what happened that day, the war between the Humans and Nasods. The day where both sides created much bloodshed and sorrow. And she was the one to cause all of this...the burning, the flames swallowing up her kingdom. Or so she thinks, blaming herself. Together with the Elgang, will Eve redeem herself and resurrect her kingdom?
1. Chapter 1

"Eve, hurry into the chamber we'll hold them off!" Oberon, my assistant cried out with haste while pushing back an angry mob of human soldiers. I just froze in fear as I gazed in horror as all I saw was a bright, but sickening color of scarlet and orange flames swallowing up my kingdom, dancing in my eyes. The once lush trees surrounding our haven turned black as ash, smoke clouding up in the air while seeing this, I coughed, my lungs tightening as I couldn't get a single breath of fresh air. Ringing in my ears were brave war cries from my fellow Nasod race as they defended themselves desperately from the humans. "My queen Eve, please hurry, the kingdom is about to collapse!" My other assistant Ophelia said, snapping me out of my trance.

I swiftly glided out of my once beautiful room and winced at my throne which was tattered and splattered with...blood? Shoving that thought away, I continued to the safety chambers, my two Nasod attacking units, the black one being Moby and the white one Remy, shoved the attackers to the side making a narrow path for me to go through. I sprinted and wheezed, my chest about to burst, and ran straight into the chamber with Moby and Remy and the door closed automatically in front of me. As if things couldn't get any worse, Oberon and Ophelia gritted their teeth holding the mob of humans from harming me, and they were brutally smashed in the heads knocked out. Instantly, I regretted entering the chamber and made a high pitched shriek and banged on the door with my fists as hard as I could, with no avail. I scanned the area to find little to no Nasods around and I panicked and sank to my knees crouching in fetal position, and whimpered, my eyes threatened to spill tears and they came out dancing down my ivory colored face. The relentless war cries and blood curdling screams made me flinch as if it was stabbing a hole into me everytime I heard pain and anger in one's voice. I wished desperately for the noises to cease but it wouldn't stop ringing in my ears as I sobbed uncontrollably.

Moby and Remy nudged me trying to comfort me, but it didn't work. My face grew warm and I wheezed feeling a liquid near my eyes as I brushed them away forcefully. What is this...tears!? I'm a Nasod, I don't have emotions! I blocked my thoughts and emotions away, but it was overpowering me as I shaked with anger and sorrow. I was so weak, and my legs and chest felt like lead. "It can't end like this... It's all my fault..." I whispered, one final tear running down my cheek, and just like that, I went into sleep mode.

Done! my first Fanfiction. I hope you liked it, and this is more like a prologue because it's very short, I'm also very new to as well:P


	2. Chapter 2

Eve's eyes shot open and she went into defensive stance, Moby and Remy growling fiercely at her sides forming a barrier in front of her as she heard a loud crash. "Smash!" I heard, and a fragment of a jagged crystal shattered the sturdy barrier of my chamber into a million pieces. Moby and Remy blocked the shards of glass from puncturing their beloved queen and I was left unscathed, not a single scratch on my delicate skin, and thankfully, neither did theirs, for I would have to do an armor analysis. "Elsword, you freaking IDIOT!" You broke something! A girl with strange violet hair shouted pointing at the mess and giving disgusted looks as she waved he hands in the air.

The red head, which Eve assumed was Elsword, shrugged and grinned sheepishly and walked right past her giving her funny looks which enraged her even further, her face now in comparison with the boys hair. "Woah look at this Aisha!" Elsword said absolutely stunned, completely forgetting about her anger as his mouth gaped open like a fish while pointing at me. I squinted so that it appeared as if I was sleeping soundly or knocked unconcious as I tuned in to their irritating this course of events, I faked being asleep/dead plotting their downfall...a surprise ambush, then I would run into the forest leaving them absolutely dumbfounded, I would then proceed to smile proudly and laugh at their foolishness for disrupting a queen and then- then what? I thought to myself. Your race has just been obliterated by humans, you have no real defense, and you'll die easily of starvation and monsters I thought to myself. Tears threatened to fall down my closed eyes from my still VERY vivid memories of my race and I tried to fight them back but they refused to cooperate and two tears fell down my face.

"Look its dead!" Elsword yelled, still pointing at me. At his response, my eyes shot open and I did what any respectable female being would do... SLAP* my palm smashed him in the face as I brutally slapped Elsword,making him spin almost, a huge scarlet mark covering three-fourths of his face that, also matched his hair. "Not dead aren't I and I'm not an IT." I said in a cold, but monotone voice, completely ignoring Elsword falling down and writhing dramatically in pain, I took one look at the violet haired girl,Aisha and realized she was a mage or magician of some kind when I was rudely interrupted by Elsword screaming and jumping back up, "Hey, I was talking to you!" My eyes looked straight into his, glaring coldly which could've pierced anyone's soul and make their blood turn cold as ice, they were filled with annoyance, my golden colored eyes as I shouted to match his loud voice, "YOU weren't talking to ME you were to busy writhing in pain from me slapping you, so don't you DARE defy OR correct me because i'm royalty and you're wrong! I screamed in defense. He flinched and backed away, still recovering from the impact of my royal hand. Aisha looked at me with newfound respect it seemed eyeing me curiously..."Royalty?!" They said now both awestruck, finally processing the information, and at that, I did a facepalm.

DONE! Finally, I made another fanfic, because it's fun, and I'm on a roll:o bye~:3


	3. Chapter 3

3rd fanfic Woot! Eve:GET ON WITH THE STORY! Me:okay...

How could they not know!? I'm the Queen of Nasods. Where do these impudent people live, under rocks!? I thought enraged and astonished. "So who are you!" Elsword demanded in an obnoxious tone. Exasperated, I ranted about my authority, and status until it looked like their brains were about to get fried by my **very meaningful rant.**

"But Nasods have been dead for thousands of years." They both whispered simultaneously. I overheard their conversation because apparently, they were terrible at whispering, and It was my turn to be shocked. I have slumbered for thousands of years... In my sealed chamber I thought absolutely puzzled and also a bit mesmerized by the thought. Elsword and Aisha seemed to wait for me, just standing there, Elsword whistling and staring at his surroundings aimlessly, and Aisha playing with her hair and summoning miniscule fireballs. I suddenly snapped out of my trance and commanded like true royalty to them to accompany me until I could revitalize my extinct/dying race and return them to their former glory. "Why should I, you slapped my freaking face!"

Aisha was silent as a ghost fading into the background and then hesitantly spoke up, "I feel like I can trust Eve, (She can slap you mercilessly)she seems like an honest person, and has been through many hardships throughout her years. After all, her whole race died right in front of her eyes, I would've been an emotional wreck." Aisha's eyes seemed to water for a second as if she had also been through something catastrophic when she stopped and blinked leaving no trace of her sudden actions. Elsword seemed to feel a connection as well and he stared at the ground, deep in thought as If he had a sudden interest with his shoes. We all seemed to connect and relate and for a moment, they felt a bond as strong as iron chains. Elsword seemed to want to share something, when he caught himself and said in a hollow, wistful tone "...Alright, but you've gotta prove yourself worthy of the Elgang!" He made a fighting stance with his enormous weapon, a sword that was at his side, and he gripped it tightly, his knuckles turning white, an engulfing fire in his determined eyes.

I would've looked amused with the human equivalent to laughter if he was still acting childishly, but he seemed to change, and I also went into fighting stance, Moby and Remy at the ready, Remy growled intimidatingaly displaying his horn and Moby used it's ears to create a make-shift shield for me but Elsword just scoffed and told me that my weapons were puny and unintimidating like a child's toy. The three of us Nasods felt the equivalent human emotion to anger and we matched the fierce intimidation in our eyes with Elsword, when he charged at me full speed, his sword at the ready to slice me into ribbons. Luckily, I was expecting that due to his rash personality and I gracefully double jumped out of harms way like a dancer and dodged behind him, my agility fluid, and even. I proceeded to combo Elsword with Moby and Remy bashing them at his spine at my command, I easily got to 15 hits and went into Awakening Mode, engulfed with white energy and I felt the strength surge through my (veins?) as I did a strong finishing skill, Illusion Stinger which transformed my robots into spears and I jabbed through Elsword and left behind a dazzling array of electron balls stunning him. I went in for another combo when he smirked and I tried to escape at that look to no avail, and he countered using Armageddon Blade increasing the size, and range of his already humongous weapon even bigger than himself and caught me mid jump and I somersaulted down bracing for impact and he slashed at me with no hesitations bringing down effortless combos reaching up to 15 as well his motions rash and powerful. I spat (blood?) out and looked at him with distaste, his power was admirable, but he needed to control his actions, and my train of thought crashed when he finished with a critical blow Mega Slash that left sparks flying along with Awakening Mode that engulfed him with ruby red flames. I was knocked down, but flipped and came up, and he looked genuinely surprised I said, "Nasods are much stronger than fragile humans, as the Queen of Nasods, if I couldn't manage this much, I'd be a joke in my own eyes."

Elsword took this as a challenge and dragged his blade on the floor leaving sparks flying, and shouted, "Then I'll just have to strike you harder!" But he never came. Elsword excelled in close combat, but what he lacked was...range. I nimbly struck him with an electron ball towards the sky and he was launched and skyrocketed above, I chained this move 3 times, anticipating the timing well and as he came down, I launched a Mega Electron Ball and a flurry of spears courtesy of Moby and Remy. He was heaving heavily to the side and looked like he was about to reach the limit leaning on his sword heavily for support, and I felt like winning this battle by summoning a miniature Black Hole, when someone charged in out of the sky. It wasn't Aisha for she was staring intensely at the match and I whipped around to see the color blond and blue crash down falling on top of me. I froze, unable to move and suddenly, my face began to overheat when I finally noticed a boy was on me.

What is this strange feeling? I thought, one million questions erupting in my mind. I couldn't understand it and I noticed that we both froze, the blond with the same reaction as I and we stayed in that position for quite a long amount of VERY awkward minutes. He finally sat up, his face beet red and scratched his head uttering words of apology. "I'm s-so sorry m-miss, I j-just couldn't let you injure my friend like that. I must've miscalculated the distance my Destroyer would take me by the force of this bullet. A-ah my name is Chung." He began to fumble with his cannon making fake checks and I lost the weird feeling when Chung held out his hand awkwardly, and I just stared back at it for a moment, before grasping it into a firm shake while bringing myself up. It was only common courtesy after all. I then scanned him, he was blond with unusual brown tips at the ends of his hair (like a Pikachu:)) and had cerulean colored eyes and a pale, feminine looking face. But in a good way and that feeling came back. C-cute... I found myself saying, but pushed that thought away trying to focus on how he weilded his cannon, the Destroyer, and it's functions.

I was quite fond with machinery, and this boy, Chung seemed quite polite, unlike some, I thought staring self-conciously at Elsword and Aisha, and I found myself lightly smiling. (Chung's POV) She has a pretty smile...I thought. I shook that thought out of my head, Focus at the task at hand ,Chung, focus.

Done! I really like this chapter, and finally introduced Chung, I feel so proud 3.


	4. Chapter 4

But _the thing is, I COULDN'T focus I found it really hard to lift my gaze from Eve, her soft ivory colored skin, lush and shiny gray locks, and her angelic and elegant face. Those honey colored eyes like precious gold orbs, two exotic azure markings under her eyes, with an identically color her precious gemstone that was propped on her forehead, and lastly, two cute horns at the sides of her head in symmetry with each others like adorable cat ears...and the list of her beauty went on and on like a never ending path in my head. She was so attractive, but not in a sinister manor, as if she would fake being angelic and innocent, and turn her back from others at the last vital moment they were in need the most, but, she seemed pure as the winter snow with ambitions meaningful and without hurt. Woah, I actually sound smart and mature the way I described her sounded like something from a Fanfiction .-. I thought uneasily, but then I frowned when I noticed she seemed down, a rather sad, and helpless aura. She seemed just as broken as that time that changed everything for me in a blink of an eye, Father... I thought._

My scattered thoughts were interrupted when Eve gazed straight at me, and I froze blushing, my face the color of scarlet.(Eve's POV) I found myself scanning Chung,once more, or rather how human's put this, "checking him out" but I simply could not help the fact that he was very handsome and questioned to myself if he was also royalty because I would be genuinely surprised if he was not. His eyes passed right through me although he was holding a (blush?) as humans called it and a shiver ran down my spine and I automatically did not feel so confident with a bravado,I felt as shy as a mere puny forest creature, not the awe-inspiring, almighty, and poised Ruler of All Nasods. I checked my memory bank for such a bizarre behavior, but no results came up, and also, scrolled down searching for the word blush, but that word also lacked answers to my very puzzled mind. I let out a sharp sigh and shook my head in wonder.

So, Chung, you specialize in machinery I am assuming?

I shyly asked him as he was checking his cannon which seemed to be a rather complicated weapon infused with the power of El.

"Ah, y-yea, nothing too complicated though, unlike you who seems far more superior than me in machinery."

Chung commented while staring completely at my drones Moby and Remy. He gingerly touched my drones and they nuzzled him back, satisfied and approving of him and he displayed a genuine smile which made me smile as well. Chung seemed rather fond of pets and domesticated animals, etc. which seemed rather fitting for him at the fact that his pupils possessed paw print like markings, I thought taking notes and uploading them into my memory banks.

"AHEM!"

Elsword and Aisha yelled in unison. Our contact with each other broke, and Aisha unexpectedly nudged us both saying in an uncomfortable and mysterious tone,

"You guys are getting rather comfortable with each other wouldn't you say~"

Chung blushed profusely and shoved her away lightly, but I did not understand that human saying. Chung explained quietly to me what she had meant to say, and when I processed the information, my inferring correct, I lightly slapped her away huffing with my chin up after I had entered that into my memory. Elsword, of course was as blunt as a brick and hadn't noticed what Aisha had said which made me sigh in relief, he wouldn't understand Love if it came up to him, introduced itself, and slapped his face. I giggled at the thought when my giddiness went to a halt as Elsword reluctantly said,

"Aiight I'll let you join the Elgang, just don't sass me, or your outta here."

I gritted my teeth and faked smiled trying to look grateful for his 'generosity' and we set out to the camp, me pleasantly chatting with Chung, and Aisha and Elsword strangling each other childishly along the way. Before I got a good view of campus, the familiar scent of smoke entered my nostrils and I made an effort not to feel nauseous, my memories of what happened to my kingdom still fresh and vivid in my mind, and they looked at me curiously and some with concern, I managed a weak smile and continued on. Finally, we reached a small camp with tents and a flickering campfire, the smell of lizard meat wafting in the air. I was suddenly greeted by a thin blade to my neck, in complete contrast to Elsword's thick and mighty weapon, but it made me flinch, the blade giving off a bone chilling aura. I locked eyes with a guy with messy Raven colored hair, dark as midnight, tan skin, and Golden eyes like me with fierce determination that seemed to send a blade right through your soul and shatter your strengths, leaving you vulnerable. I straightened up to my full height not daring to back down like a lowly dog with it's tail between it's legs and matched his ferocity the both of our golden eyes glaring at each other, cold as ice to chill a souls blood to ice.

I have dealt with beings like this when I was shrugged away from my pleading help to the humans due to the fact of low amounts of El, my kind were struggling to not die, crime arose in the safest of locations, and food and El was scarce, so we seeked help only to be turned down on our desperate request which caused the fight between the Nasods and humans before I entered into my thousands of years of slumber. Once again, I shook my head to clear my thoughts of the tragedy, so much of this involving blocking my mind of such negative thought. Another girl sauntered up to us. She was also blonde her hair in beautiful and shiny long tresses that seemed to dance in the air, she had large, expressive emerald eyes that held truth and kindness when I looked at her, fair dainty skin, quite the bust on her chest area, and most importantly, noticeable pointy ears which indicated she was an elf. She held a cheery aura, but it masked grief and sorrow, _she is quite the soldier_ I thought warming up to her immediately.

"It's okay, we can trust her Raven, I've got built in lie detectors ya know? she pointed to her sharp ears once more.

My name is Rena by the way. She exclaimed to me cheerfully. They guy who's name was Raven sheathed his sword with a satisfied grunt and sat by the fire. The day passed by quickly, and dinner time came, Rena called us for supper, and I stretched leisurely from the wooden stump, while I noticed Elsword and Aisha sprinting and shoving each other to eat first consuming a horrifying amount of meat and even taking from each others plates as if they were in the world championship food eating contest, Raven silently and calmly took a piece of lizard meat and ate quietly with a relaxing aura coming from the tense and usual Raven, and Chung only went for the sweets, not a care in the world and not any signs of weight gain. I reluctantly took a piece of lizard meat, not accustomed to non-expensive low quality food, instead of high-quality feasts and food taking great lengths to get, and took a bite. It was merely satisfactory, as in it would have to do, and Chung shared his sweets with me, which I happily accepted washing away my bitter memories, almost, and we all went to bed, our bellies filled and ending with a chorus of Good nights and sleep wells, and I collapsed in my new bed, also not used to the fact that it wasn't woven with fine silk and valuable materials, but I didn't give a care in the world, my thoughts all cleared. I was exhausted and finally went in to sleep mode, and _for the first time in years my mouth came up in a curve and I smiled, finally content._

_Me:Whew~ Done! This was actually sitting in my google docs for quite some time now, (these are already up to chapter 6) I just had to edit it, a lot. XD Sorry, My story format is rather poor, the only thing I really excel at is vocabulary and word choice as well as imagery, stuff that makes your brain hurt just by hearing it.-._

_ Elsword & Aisha: o.e derp._

_Me: Ahem ^^; exactly. I hope I improved slightly this time, even thought a whole paragraph of italics looks weird to me, but thanks for taking the time to read this, R&R :P._


	5. Chapter 5

_All Systems checked and green, data completed, fully functional,the systems and modules in my head dully droned in a monotone voice._

I sat up from my creaky bed and It groaned and sighed with relief as I got up releasing the pressure from it, I stretched leisurely like a feline that has just awoken from a long nap, but didn't show any sign of trudging or slouching out of my tent, also not bothering to lay a finger on my bed to fix it for showing well posture and not having to do unnecessary physical/or mental work is the regal traditional way I have learned since I was just a newborn Nasod, the new Queen, so I grew rather accustomed to doing nothing of the sort related to hard labor besides aiding my comrades in combat, or tense debates about the Nasod government and law.

I emerged from my tent with friendly greetings by Rena who chorused in a musical voice,"Good Morning~" with a warm genuine smile, a smile and acknowledgment from Aisha.

Raven plainly said "Mornin'" in a lazy and calm tone,and Elsword drowsily mumbling "Morning.." with a sleepy smile while slapping me in the back in a friendly manner making me cough.

_If I were not educated with personalities and emotions of humans, I would be genuinely confused at their actions, or I would misinterpret Elswords greeting and slap his face all the while greeting good morning to my newfound comrades_ I thought amused.

The scent of bacon and pancakes with trail mix and orange/apple juice wafted throughout the air making my stomach growl like a starving and ferocious monster and I blushed, embarrassed at the sound of my poor stomach, fighting with Elsword had left me fatigued beyond my expectations and munching lightly on the likes of lizard meat and sweets hadn't satisfied it, seeking richer of quality foods. I strode near the center of the campfire were several tree stumps served as tables, Elsword an Aisha, of course stuffing their faces and snatching from other people's plates causing havoc and bickering with each other like Phorus fighting for a meal. If it weren't for their completely different color schemes and hair,red and purple, I would mistaken them as siblings for their competitive and playful nature.

I giggled softly, my palm covering my mouth and they looked at me curiously while giving each other headlocks and shouted,

"What, what are you looking at?!"

I sauntered away still grinning, only managing to say "nothing..."

I took some food, Elsword and Aisha still staring at me suspiciously. I nibbled lightly on my pancakes and took a swig of orange juice, but didn't care for the bacon when we were interrupted by the sigh of Raven

"Elsword, Aisha, did you finish your quest and defeat Banthus after finding Eve?"

They looked up and over their mountain of food on their dishes and said at the same exact time, "Mmph, yea...?" In between mouthfuls.

Raven nodded in approval.

"We've got to get a move on to our next destination, we need to help as many people as we can, almost all the town are in critical condition because of the outbreak of monsters and 's start with helping out Elder now."

We nodded in agreement and packed up to get ready for our next destination. I entered my tent to get ready and grab the limited amount of supplies I had: a few potions to aid myself that I had received from my safety pod when it had shattered, my Eve promotional costume clothing, and my two loyal and infinitesimal combat drones, Moby and Remy. I slung my tattered makeshift satchel over my shoulder and headed out meeting with the others and we said simultaneously,

"Let's go!"

Rena expertly took away the tent and wrapped it away skillfully and spun her leg over the fire which made it sputter and flicker weakly, and then shot a magic arrow just above it, moving at the speed of a hawk with deadly precision, Rena's gaze faced in the other direction. I stood there momentarily and thought impressed, _her capabilities and skill would even make my assistants Oberon and Ophelia jealous and would make them feel competitive, trying to surpass her speed and accuracy. _I knew Rena was that skilled the moment I met her, she was a Elf after all, and probably exceeded my age therefore with more experience, so I was not surprised. The thought of Oberon and Ophelia lingered as I thought worriedly about their whereabouts. We set off with haste jumping and me gliding, over fallen trees and reached our destination in less than 2 hours and I gasped at the sight of the town. Children were laughing and running around a beautifully created fountain with their parents keeping an eye on them and friendly merchants selling their, well,... merchandise with the customers happy and bustling about.

There seemed to be no trace of havoc or shady alleys or crime, and I half expected a demon to appear and start frolicking around playing 'follow the leader' with several of the kids at the fountain. My eyes shone at the sight because it was so peaceful and happy and I marveled in it all, feeling the human equivalent to happiness.

The others were only surprised and gave me a puzzled look like,

"Should I be concerned?"

I straightened up immediately making a bad poker face that usually never failed me, and a man came up to us with arms outstretched who I guessed was the mayor. He introduced us to him

"Welcome to Elder, I am it's mayor, Chief Hagus, how may I assist you this fine evening?"

Chung stated in a polite fashion, "Actually, we came here to ask if you're having any trouble with monsters here?"

I almost wanted to backhand the sweet boy for asking such a stupid question, but Hagus looked like he'd been kneed in the stomach Rena style and cleared his throat stating,

"Yes, this place may seem peaceful, but in the suburbs of Elder, monsters and thieves have been lurking around..."

I cursed for not thinking such a thing, _even the safest of havens have been intruded lately! _So to avoid embarrassment, I covered it up.

"Let us make haste to the Suburbs of Elder."

We didn't have the time to enjoy the atmosphere and buy merchandise and politely declined offers from time to time until we reached the Suburbs.

I gasped and stared down at my boots, this place was the complete opposite of the Central of Elder and _no laughter rang in my ears or a warm atmosphere and my (bones?) began to chill. The only laughter that one cold hear here would be cold, unwelcoming, and mocking._Hagus suddenly appeared behind us

" Yes, quite depressing and grim this area has gotten. Please, clear out the Shadow Forest so it won't spread even further."

We nodded in agreement ready to enter the Shadow Forest, when Chung turned a sickish pale,well, paler than he usually is, as if he was a ghost and looked nauseous weakly mumbling, "Shadow?"

Me: I hope you enjoyed this one as well and that I have at least absorbed a bit of the stuff I learned in this empty and fried brain of mine. . Also, I'm not sure whether to italicize or use this ' and I apologize for any mistakes due to my typing on the iPad, so it messes a few things up occasionally. I don't want to use the computer when my sickly sis is using it (I'm such a good sibling:3) Anyways, please R&R and I appreciate the constructive criticism that has been given to me.


	6. Chapter 6

** (Chung's POV: huge flashback coming up XDD)**

'I placed my palms on my knees and bent over heavily at the word as if an imaginary person punched me in the stomach at the word "Shadow". An uneasy feeling enveloped me like a sweet dream turning into a horrid nightmare as we edged toward the Shadow Forest, The lush green landscape was midnight black charred with ash and darkness and the rest was a sickly shade of violet creeping up on the blades of grass and heaving trees, which seemed to have facial expressions of terror and resentment as if someone was trapped inside. I just stared back at our destination in eerie silence, my paw print shaped pupils slowly fading like I was possessed or blind and suddenly turned dilated as a memory hit me like being smashed with my own cannon.

"Father.."

I rasped choking on my sentences only into that word, then came a flashback. Father was the guardian and protector of my hometown, Hamel which was a beautiful city, the land completely made of rock overflowing with water, a unique geographical structure like no other. My father was undefeated, and had the strength and heart of a lion he was so powerful, citizens of Senace addressed my father as..Hamel's White Colossuss'. Under his protection, Hamel was always peaceful...laughter rang in my ears and warmth and security was always present in our beautiful city. When one day.. It happened so suddenly, Demons began to invade and attack our Senace.  
With their ferocious dark magic and relentless attacks, our kingdom quickly fell, the blood of our soldiers staining our land and water for years to come, everything was taken over by the void of darkness except for the capital, Hamel was left standing in defense and protection thanks to my father's heroic actions. Our resistance and sense of security and hope shattered when the demons finally figured out our family's armor crystals were similar to that of an El Crystal. Through the constant battle and exposure to defend his beloved city, my father's mind was eventually corrupted and overtaken by the demons, cursing my father's pure crystal into Dark El. The place my father swore to protect with an oath became ruins by his own bare hands... The brave soldiers remaining were no match for both the demons and my father. Hope quickly dissipated and faded into the darkness along with the citizens hearts and all seemed lost and without reason discouraging our soldiers. To make the matters worse, being haunted by the fact that Hamel's White Colossuss is against them dampened their spirits even further.

When I could no longer endure the pain any longer, I came to the battleground no matter how dangerous it was, in order to stop and make my father come to his senses. The darkness had influenced him too deeply, and I was helpless against his attacks, my feeble words trying to find reason to him. I would've been killed, the last of the royal Seiker family if Elsword an his friends hadn't came along to rescue me. Retreat, although the hardest decision to leave all of whom and what I loved, was the only option, leaving me scarred inside and out beyond repair, but I soldiered on only to have my injuries and wounds deepening to the point where I had lost consciousness. When I woke up, a week had already passed by, and I gazed over at my damaged city, reduced to rubble and ash from the distance,half of the Senace submerged underwater, the mind scarring event long gone in time, but not in my mind, the saying out of sight out of mind clearly false in my opinion and a part of myself always taunting me of my costly failure to stop my own father from wreaking havoc. But while I was unconscious, the Red Knights came to Hamel's aid, fighting side by side with their comrades at the point where they needed them the most. There was no use going back to Hamel in the state I was in, so I pushed aside my regrets and guilt and decided to accompany Elsword to become stronger than ever in order to fight the Demons, face my father, and bring people a glimmer of hope to make everything right.'

My own oath came into being that I would never hurt innocent lives. I came back from my trance quickly, revitalized and strong and I looked back at the Shadow Forest and thought, It will be a formidable fight, but nothing I can't handle! All that had fazed me had disappeared and a newfound sense of confidence surged through me, when I unexpectedly said,

"Let's do this!"Without hesitation.

The gang looked back at me with worry and concern, even Raven. From my actions earlier, Eve lightly placed her hands onto mine making my cheeks flush. She looked at me with worry, something she claimed Nasods didn't have and whispered softly,

"You don't have to do this Chung, I sense worry and fear radiating from you, I-I do not wish for you to get harmed." I gave her a nod of thanks, but replied back with,

"It's alright Eve, Now let's go!" Elsword chimed in

"That's the spirit!" Also with more confidence than ever, satisfied with my response.

_We came in all pumped up, and ready to kick some serious ass, but it was like charging towards the closet in a horror movie, you don't know exactly what's going to happen, but it'll scar you, and you could get hurt...possibly, killed._ We kept running, our footsteps sinking slightly into a dark gunk and each step made a crunching sound from the dry, black, grass. I would be lying If I were to say I was still confident from when I entered, every slight noise giving me a mini heart attack, like when you're leaning too far out on your chair, and I almost jumped out of my skin when a tree branch grazed my face, until we finally managed to see something in the pitch black darkness. A gleaming ball of light was zipping around as if in search of something and I couldn't help but marvel in the pretty thing, moving like a dancing lantern in the night, and I approached closer, following it as if luring me, until it almost dissolved into an object and disappeared_. Don't go light!_ I thought and searched for it, until I felt someone,..or something's presence. I whipped around to identify the stranger, but what happened went by so fast, I couldn't register it into my brain, and I just froze like a deer in the headlights.

(Eve's POV)

_ I scowled searching for Chung gliding over hazards for what seemed like an eternity when I finally spotted a white, blue, and blond shape which obviously, was Chung and I made haste to give him the scolding of a lifetime when I spotted something else. A moving...tree?_ My calculations told me that Chung wouldn't notice in time and I gasped and sprinted forward when the tree was going after Chung and my instincts took over instead of my superior Nasod mind which would've made a more sensible response, and I recklessly leaped in front of Chung shielding him from impact and was sliced in the side with thorny roots sprouting from the ground. I gasped at the pain and my gaping wound, clenching my side,my palm drenched in (blood?) and realized in horror that the thorns were tainted with poison._ Do Nasods get poisoned, or are we immune to such a thing? I had never figured out and It would be foolish to test the hypothesis, but I grew weak, my energy draining and struggled to stay up, but lost consciousness from (blood?) loss and only remembered collapsing into Chung's arms._

**Woot! Finished. Sry, I didn't update daily like I usually do. had typers block. Everyone else:Why we not in story that much?!Chases me with chainsaws. Me: I also had to go through the Chung tutorial a lot. D: Also, thank you all for the advice and reviews, and I'm glad that some find me somewhat humorous. owo. When there are some who include muffin weaponry, vampires, and high school in their storiesxp Later~**


	7. Chapter 7

**I can't believe I forgot this o-o. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Elsword or any of it's characters. Just this story.**

(Chung's POV)

I glared with hate and resentment at the Shadow Ent with Eve in my arms. _To my surprise, Eve was light as any other human being, I expected her to be heavy(not fatXD)for a Nasod, being a robot and all, probably composed of metals and whatnot, but she was not, her skin and body warm seeming to be pumping with blood and filled with life. _Relief swept over me, as if a violent storm had passed when I tuned in to shallow breathing and she seemed to be peacefully sleeping silently instead of knocked unconscious. My instincts and desire to protect surged into my body, and I rose Destroyer just in time, a deadly mixture of Freutiner and El with metal, absorbing the impact of tendrils of darkness and spear-like thorns rushing towards me like a cascading waterfall. My surroundings were encased in thorns a crown shaped formation,and realized I was trapped like a mouse. Luckily, the frenzy of plants and vines whipping and trying to spear me like a fish, bounced harmlessly off my chest, occasionally grazing and causing shallow scratches and dents, but I was unscathed due to Freutiner, my armor composed of El, protecting me from injury.

I reloaded up a cannonball, seemingly on auto-pilot, and instinctively went into siege shelling stance, and shouted, "Scare Chase!"

An air projectile shot forcefully out of the cannon like a gun shot from an AK47, shooting me backwards a little,and honed in on the Ent, weaving through the thorns gracefully, and the missile exploded into a light blue color at the Ent like fireworks, and it seemed to dissolve into the shadows. I placed Eve gingerly on the ground and gazed concerned, at her ivory face. She groaned and clutched her gashed stomach and I widened my eyes in surprise and relief.

(Eve's POV)

"Ch-Chung?"I weakly managed to whisper struggling on my words.

I automatically slapped him lightly and anger flaired throughout me, with an additional amount of tears that began to prick in my eyes, and I sniffed several times, oblivious for the time being that I was severely injured.

He chuckled and said lightly, "I'm so glad you're alright,..and, you said you had no emotions, did you worry about me so much that I gave them to you?~"

He flashed a smile and I blushed again slapping him, realizing he was carrying me in what humans call "Bridal style" and furiously demanded he put me down.

Chung lightly placed me down and I winced from the pain, sinking to my knees. A gash an inch into my body wedged through the cracks in my ribs soaked in messy scarlet (blood?) with a sickish green and violet color illustrating that the poison was affecting me and spreading to my vitals. I got up shakily and convinced him that I was fine, as long as he didn't do any more reckless and idiotic things, (like I had.) We sat there in awkward silence, unable to start up even a casual conversation within this gloomy and eerie background.

I abruptly cut through the thick silence and tension as if it was butter and my words were the knife saying in a dull voice, "Chung, I'm sure you would've had enough time to at least defend yourself, retreat, or counter that Ent's attack, but why hadn't you?"

My eyes were fixed onto his paw printed ones and I waited patiently not knowing whether I sounded severe or concerned,( I would have to consult with Rena on human socialization in a better time.)Until he finally spoke up, with a crestfallen expression on his face.

"I-I really don't know what happened back there Eve, it seems almost fuzzy as if my memory was dissolving, it, brought back...some painful memories."

I urged him on further willing to hear what had happened.

"Go on Chung, I am listening."

He cleared his throat and began struggling to just string together a few sentences, and then it rushed out all at once like an erupting volcano. The more I listened, I felt emptier and emptier like one of the hollow Ent trees, and I shivered.

"I-I was sad, and...scared. Scared that I couldn't protect everyone, scared that in their eyes, they would shun me forever because I had failed them, and scared that my father would die along with, my mother, who had died when I was so,so very young. He's all I have left, Eve."

The "ears"on his hair flattened as if indicating his sadness. Tears danced in the corner of my eyes, Chung's story held much grief that could damage a delicate heart like his at such a young age. Though he still manages to stay strong, and cheerful to the others and showed no sign of weakness, he had just shattered right I front of me, revealing the truth encased within his thoughts. Comforting and assuring words didn't come easily to me like motherly Rena or energetic Aisha. _What did I have to offer?_

"You cannot protect everyone, Chung, it is physically impossible."I said in a monotone voice.

"I know that, But I want to atleast make an effort to protect anyone I can." He said biting his lip shyly.

I nodded my head and I could relate to what he was saying, "I for one, wished to protect my fellow Nasods, but I failed to do so, and my fellow citizens were not spared, not young or old Nasod, my homeland was razed and left to burn engulfed in the flames."

He shifted uneasily at my story stating that, compared to my ordeal, his was not as terrible and that it wasn't my fault at all, rambling on and on. I cut him off, realizing these were not the proper words to be said.

"You have me, Chung, and I have you."I replied firmly without thinking.

A blush rose through my cheeks at the sound of this, as if this was some cheesy Fanfiction. "I mean, you have your comrades to accomplish the same goal of which to retake your homeland Hamel and I-"

My sentence was cut off as Chung stared into my eyes, and, unexpectedly leaned in and our lips met as he did what humans called "kissing" _I didn't know he had such feelings for me or that he had a side such as this, but I felt warmth and security envelope me, but was rudely interrupted by my systems. _ERROR! ERROR! SYSTEM HEATING UP, CODE RED, CODE RED! _I ignored the warnings, cancelling them and continued keeping our lips locked and it felt as if this was going on for eternity, time and space slowing down around us and I felt ecstatic, like sparks of electricity in my body, some things I felt couldn't happen, emotions, and realized, I do have emotions, Chung, I just didn't realize, Do I love you? _Until yet another nuisance.

"Are we interrupting~"

Chung and I almost yelped In unison easily identifying that same devious voice and straightened up almost immediately. A blonde ish green haired girl approached us winking and bending down over us, Rena.

"I knew you guys were the perfect pairing, the moment your eyes met~"

My eyes narrowed in irritation as I spat, "What a bunch of garbage Rena, die trash."

Raising my palm up indicated what I was about to do THWACK* My hand stopped as Rena blocked it with her other free hand, I analyzed the data and it showed that Rena was also skilled in martial arts.

"You can do that to Elsword all you, want, but that won't work on me~" She added as if reading my thoughts.

Raven and I sighed in unison rolling his eyes, but he also smirked.

"W-what did we miss?" I whirled around to see the familiar colors of red and purple.

"Oh nothing, just that Chung and Eve kissed~" Rena replied in a melodic voice which made me almost want to slap her. Elsword grinned widely and added,

"It's about time Chung my bro, well done." While Chung chuckled nervously and Aisha laughed and grinned hysterically pointing at us singing an idiotic song.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO DISCUSS SUCH THINGS!" I shouted.

The forest grew quiet and in a softer tone I said, "We must make haste before Chung and the rest of you get affected by the darkness and report back to Chief Hagus."

Raven and the rest of the gang nodded in agreement and he led the whole group like a general on a mission with his troops. I scanned the environment to find a huge area of monsters near, and I warned them to stay cautious. Things were going quite well as we advanced through the demon ranks as I shoved Moby and Remy into another wisp, the spirits that controlled the Ent's, and smashed my battle units into an Ent and unleashing electron balls and crackling bolts of electricity onto another. A volley of green nature arrows sailed over my head impaling several monsters with effortless headshots, and I nodded taking note that Rena was taking full attention at the task at hand. Clang* A cannon blocked and absorbed the impact of thorns rushing towards my comrades, bullets and cannonballs shot on rapid fire, showing that Chung was doing well, and Elsword and Raven served as partners, slashing and hacking their way through with their blades exchanging blows and deflecting them and ice,nature, flames, and lightning charred and froze the field for easier targets and I knew that it was Aisha and Rena. Things were in our favor until we all froze and tensed up as an enormous being imbued with pure dark El loomed over us, A Giant Dark Ent.

"This is the last boss guys, Eldork, don't screw this up!" Aisha yelled grinning, boosting our morale.

Arrows,bombs,bullets, electricity, and sheer force, rained down on the Ent and we smirked triumphantly, but the thick smoke cleared away to see an unscathed Ent and our eyes sharpened, as this one, wouldn't be as easy to annihilate. It roared and a dozen barbs and tendrils shot from the Earth smothering us, piercing our armor and encasing us inside. My jewel propped on my forehead had earned a scratch, Raven had a second, deep cut near his cheek opposite to the scar he already had, Aisha had run out of mana and had several gashes along with Elsword who ran out of energy, and Rena had bloodied fingers, unable to shoot even a single arrow without shaking.

"C'mon guys, rally up, stay together, and cooperate," Raven yelled panting,

"And finish this thing!" Elsword added.

Although we were exhausted,sweaty,and bloody covered in grime, we all managed to grin ando straighten up, more determined than ever.

"Phoenix Strike, Meteor Call,Triple Geyser, Cannon Blade!"

I heard my comrades shout in unison, I analyzed them quickly, and they seemed to be reaching their absolute limits, unleashing their most powerful skills. They were all ranged I noticed, to weave through the thorns and destroy the attacker such as Chung's Scare Chase.

Rena's Phoenix Strike soared through the air almost completely obliterated the tendrils, burning them, summoning the heat of the mystical bird like a thousand Suns, keeping the minor demons at bay from the harsh light. It's flaming plumage of scarlet and orange gleamed brightly as it crowed, Meteors the size of the Ent itself appeared as Aisha gripped onto her staff tightly, her clear voice chanting each syllable of her spell perfectly and smashed the Ent as it groaned and set on fire along with the Phoenix and the Meteor exploded with such force, it shook the entire battle field.

"Now my turn!"

Elsword shouted, slamming his blade into the Earth,and summoning a pillar of pure flames like an erupting volcano and geyser at the same time, setting the grass ablaze and covering his face in soot. Raven clenched his Nasod arm and sharpened his eyes, bracing himself, and shot an inferno of heat from his robot arm like an advanced flamethrower, setting the Ent's leaves on fire and entering it's gaping mouth as it consumed fire, burning inside and out.

"I might as well also fight with fire," I said grinning, remembering how only fire had destroyed my homeland. "Dimension Link Guardian!"

An ancient Nasod ally loomed over me and slammed it's fists into the ground and summoned a wave of flames to both sides, destroying the minor monsters and encircling the Ent. The Ent seemed to hold on, but not for long, one final blow could finish It. I observed Chung as he shook with anger and fear, his Freutiner glowing weakly readying himself and we yelled out.

"Chung, finish it!"

He shot a cannonball at the ground, and skyrocketed upwards, diagonally facing our target, and entered awakening, Berserk Mode in midair and screamed.

"Gigantic Impact!"

And he slammed into the Ent's face like a torpedo, drilling into it as it's face began to fade, and pierced right through, smashing the ground with brutality like a 8.0 Earthquake demolishing everything and the ground shook almost knocking me down, ...and all grew silent.

"W-we did it!~"

Aisha cried joyfully, breaking the silence and jumping up and down, waving her staff in the air and embracing Elsword. Everyone stared at her, and she blushed profusely along with Elsword, who's blush matched his hair quite nicely.

"G-get off me!" They cried at once,shoving each other and dusting off their clothing and clearing their throats. Rena grinned and wagged her finger.

"I see a new couple brewing up, not that it was a secret or anything~it was as obvious as a demon in daylight~Aisha and Elsword!"

They stayed silent only to her as she emitted a fearful and dark aura, but also smiling evilly as well to anyone that opposed her and her opinion. Raven sighed, but blushed as well when Rena came up to him and hugged him as well. Chung and I shot a knowing glance at the four, and we laughed and giggled while they gave us looks as if we were lunatics, but joined as well (even Raven) and laughter and merriment lingered, as we exited from the dungeon.

**Me: Yay, I like this one :D It's longer as well, I hope you enjoyed it, and please R&R :P**


	8. Chapter 8

(Eve's POV)

We leisurely walked out with no fear of being ambushed right after we had eliminated all of the monsters within the area of Shadow Forest. 'There seemed to be more of a calm, perhaps even a slight amount of tranquility after we had destroyed the Huge Shadow Ent. The monsters imbued with dark El changed from pitch black, to being surrounded by a light purple hue. However, improved and upgraded doesn't make one assume this place is completely safe. The air stirred, and a cool, chilling, but an unpleasant breeze crept up onto me and brushed my shoulder blades, monsters and wisps stayed at bay within an alarmingly close distance almost surrounding us as if they were puzzled whether to attack or not, now that the Dark El had dissipated and decreased. They refused to attack , but they seemed to tensely watch us, eyes as huge as pomegranates hiding and taking shelter within the charred woods. The anxiety and tension in the air was still so thick, it seemed that you would have to slice it with a serrated knife.'

Chung's fingertips brushed onto mine, and my cheeks became a rosy shade of pink. I quickly withdrew, taken aback, 'a tsundere girl that at several occasions, lacked the famous poker face, and didn't seem to be regal and elegant at all. That seemed to be myself, despite the fact that I wished to be elegant, calm, and composed like a true leader and queen.' I sighed with a tinge of disappointment, hanging my head a bit lower, and he looked at me as if knowing what I was thinking and he smiled warmly. _Chung seemsto always be there for me. _I returned the favor enthusiastically when I noticed his already pale skin color turn even more pale to the point that he looked almost like the supernatural. 'He must be heavily affected by the Dark El here knowing that his Freutiner, was composed out of a substance quite similar to pure El so it wouldn't be surprising if he were to grow into a weaker and more vulnerable state to the point that the contaminated El would absorb into the core of his armor and almost consume it inside. To take full control over Chung like a puppeteer and its' host being the puppet.' I finally accepted his hand with my own and grasped it firmly as a little favor knowing that he had tried to boost my morale. _Normally, a queen would never return a favor to a commoner, and I was still not sure whether or not Chung was of royal blood or like I had thought, just another individual. However, It did not seem to be a requirement for Chung to be royalty because he was an exception, he was my King and I believe my first and only love._

My eyes averted its' gaze to a certain purple headed friend and I noticed that Aisha was having a hard time coping as well. She lagged behind us and kept to herself quite unusually. She stared behind us occasionally with uncertainty and hesitation, just like the confused monsters. Her staff trailed behind on the ground accumulating dirt and Dark El particles on it's tip, her face was just as pale as Chung's, her eyes glassy and without life and vigor that would usually irritate or energize us, but above all, she didn't seem to attempt to bicker with Elsword.

"Hey, flatty! Hurry up!" Elsword said, his eyes kept onto the road and his back turned.

He said it in an annoyed tone of voice which seemed to not have any concern in the slightest for her condition and well being. _He still hasn't realized his feelings for her quite yet and vice versa._ Aisha looked up in a twinge of anger, but it disappeared and replaced with sadness, she lingered behind still and didn't say .word. That was what seemed to bring forth Elsword's attention. He looked back at her with a bizarre and annoyed expression, his face twitching slightly, not able to make anything of this low response.

(Elsword's POV)

'What's this girl's deal? She rants on and on how annoying and irresponsible I am, slowing everyone down, but look! She can't even carry herself on her own feet.' I groaned and sighed rubbing my scarlet hair in annoyance, and of course, it just sprang back up again like some freak jack-in-the-box. Walking back, I start to pick her up and hoisted her carrying her in my arms, 'no, I wasn't trying to be heroic or romance-y she was seriously getting on my nerves acting all sad and shit. That wasn't allowed in the El Gang, except for Raven, it's a part of his character I guess, to be all emo and manly keeping the tears and pain . Furthermore, (yep I said it) Never leave a man, woman, whatever, lagging behind.' Aisha finally seemed to snap out of her trance.

"Wha-what, are you doing!?"

Her face became as red as a cherry and she smacked, kicked, and slapped furiously near my face. It didn't hurt half as much as when Eve bitch slaps, or drop-kicks me, Eve's slaps felt like a thousand needles being lodged into your skin. But still, it kinda hurt.

"I'm carrying you because you seem to be exhausted and injured, but this is how you repay me?"

(Aisha's POV)

Warmth radiated around me and spread around my stiff and cold body and I welcomed it, embracing it like it was a blanket. Eyes heaving from the warmth, a light subtle smile appeared, Then my eyes widened almost in horror and I snapped out of my trance.

"That's not the point idiot!I don't need your help! I'M JUST FINE. LET GO OF ME. Look, now Rena thinks we're some lovey-dovey couple now Eldork!."

That seemed to bring her spirits up. I grinned widely, _old Aisha was back._

I brought my arms down and she rolled right out and face-planted onto the floor. She screamed at me with her awfully high-pitched voice and I covered my ears and almost winced at her girly voice.

"Yeah, yeah, I was just trying to help." I said sheepishly but in an honest way.

I then offered my hand and outstretched it seeing what would happen. She blinked several times as if trying to process what I just said, staring at my hand for a long time like it was a hard decision and finally, she stretched her hand out as well and grasped mine weakly.

"Um, th-thanks."

She muttered quietly while looking up with her purple amethyst colored eyes. _Her eyes are pretty and her voice is actually kinda cute... NO ELSWORD .her. Right..?_ I thought shaking my head as I blushed slightly.

Anything to keep me away from what I just thought about Aisha. She huffed and crossed her arms over her flat chest, back to normal it seemed, and shouted back at me.

"I don't have to say it again, ungrateful Elbaka!"

We began shouting at each other again arguing like how we usually did and I was actually relieved that I managed to keep myself occupied so that I didn't have to think.

(Eve's POV)

'It seems that Elsword and Aisha have matured slightly at this turn of events. Perhaps they may even fall "in love" like what Rena had stated. This turn of events was getting quite interesting. In addition, Rena and Raven have been getting closer as well. Raven's "soft side" was becoming evident around the angelic-like Rena. They were like light and darkness, Yin and Yang, balancing each other out in harmony even if they were complete opposites, but entirely the same with that sorrow embedded within them from war and scars and sacrifice. and Elsword and Aisha were similar magnets attracting towards each other, even if they were complete opposites, but entirely the same.

Magnets were a way of understanding their puzzling relationship, being a Nasod, so of course I would know how magnets work and the same seems to apply to humans. I have been observing my comrades for awhile now, and instead of combat it seems, they only have eyes for each other, I mused. We all have been focusing at the task at hand which is what's important, and although some have not been paying attention to it fully, we support each other and boost each other's morale enabling us to fight better and be more aware of one another, so I was satisfied. But, there was always this dreaded though, and what if. Such as, what if I do not revive my race? Or even worse. If these humans (and Elf) are actually slowing me down slightly, making me look past just reviving my race and making me crave more...emotions...anger, sorrow, joy, love? Postponing my original goal.

No, Do not be selfish. I will not lose sight of what's important to me, I shall revive the kingdom and achieve "friendship" at the same time. One of the first things I learned as a Queen was not to backstab unless necessary, as that would cause unnecessary revolts and enemies instead of valuable allies and "friends." Heat accumulated in my systems as I experienced yet another emotion, Anger. Anger at my selfishness, stupidity, loneliness... For if we had dent encountered, I would still be trapped within my thoughts allowing them to consume me in my encased confinement deep within the woods. I would be alone, with only Moby and Remy to accompany me. I would blame myself for the downfall of my kingdom, the sight of laughing flames set in stone in my memory banks. Slowly dying a death in vain, being consumed by monsters, or a battle with myself, all of those reasons didn't appeal to me.

But now, I have something Chung and Elsword described as friends. It was not necessary most stated. No, Nasods didn't need friends. That is where those individuals opinions are not valid. Friends like the ones I have allowed me to look beyond my faults, negative actions, and characteristics and to be forgiving towards them, forging them into strengths. The grudge I have held upon myself about the destruction of my race lessened by a considerable amount only leaving the determination to revive the Nasods and look forward to a kingdom anew left. All of these happened in a few weeks over being exposed to "friendship" and yet, I haven't quite addressed them about my true origin, goal, or appreciation towards them. I plan on updating that to my priorities later. My comrades make me ponder quite a bit... I thought.

They have taught me much things as well. Emotion. Raven explained anger to me in a very descriptive fashion. Elsword and Aisha demonstrated happiness, in their own special ways, Lastly, Rena told me about love. She taught me countless emotions, I lost track, but what struck to be the most interesting was love. It had the most variations and was very vexing.' I was so occupied with the concept of love and emotion that we already had arrived at Elder. Hoffman was there to greet us and congratulate our safe arrival.

"Have you completed Shadow Forest?"

"Yes, we destroyed the Giant Ent. There is less Dark El now." Chung said, speaking before everyone else.

The maor gave a nod of approval. "Thank you, we appreciate your courage and support, I would also like you to clear out Wally's Castle as that would greatly impact the improvement on Elder. Aisha was about to start and protest, but Raven stopped her and she shifted uncomfortably, holding back an argument that she was beat to. When the mayor disappeared from their line of sight, Aisha sighed in an exasperated tone.

"But I'm tired, we're tired! Let's do it later!"

Raven countered by the fact that there was no time to rest and that we must help as much people as we can, as I stayed silent, browsing the web. They argued back and forth (surprisingly not Elsword and Aisha) Rena clenched her fists and in the corner of my eye, I saw a dangerous glare in hers. She shook and towered over them like a demon, purple aura emanating from her as she gritted her teeth and clenched her punching fist. Aisha shrunk back as soon as she felt the "presence" Raven didn't back down however, from the potential hazard. Rena grinned demonically and the sinister aura spread. Chung became pale even, and I sighed.

"Probability of Chung fainting, 70%. Probability of Raven surrendering, 99.9%."

Raven finally rose both his hands in defeat, but it didn't seem to be because he was frightened. He then nodded and announced that we were to rest for the night in the Elder inn, stock up on supplies, and depart early in the morning as soon as possible. We all nodded and went our separate ways to gather what we needed, pondering about tomorrow's outcome, and if it would be in our favor.


	9. Chapter 9

System check, all green. My systems droned out, addressing me as usual. I sat up in bed and gazed at the clock. 9:30. It seems to be that I'm 30 minutes and 42 seconds off, how strange. Perhaps dungeoning in the Shadow Forest had drained me even more than I had expected. I shall run a diagnostic check before we depart to Wally's Castle, I thought. Scooping up my equipment and hastily getting ready, I got out of the inn and requested a navigation device. The potions and equipment section in the vast Elder market being my destination.

"Turn left and proceed straight for 60 yards..."

I obeyed the directions and got through a series of twists and turns arriving at the end point to see Chung alone, eyeing some peculiar potions. Observing my surroundings, I went to acquire the necessities first before meeting up with him. I noted how much things have progressed over the centuries as well as the wider varieties of potions such as the fact that there are now, Advanced HP and MP concoctions. There was other items beside medicinal ones, but that was not what I was seeking despite that, I inserted the data in a well-organized file in my thinking processor. For past and present memories and data.

"Oh Eve, hi! Want to shop with me?" Chung asked politely.

I accepted and we explored the fast market of Elder. Whenever I found something interesting or new, a subtle smile of amazement crossed my lips as I added more and more fascinations to my processor. Chung tilted his head and smiled warmly at me, before grasping my hand. I looked down at our linked hands, surprised, before allowing him to herd me through the large, noisy, but warm and friendly crowd of merchants and buyers. I was already aware of where he was leading me and we smiled, weaving our way to, a stunning monument-like fountain. The detail, patience, and dedication that was put into this by a talented architect was astounding, it must have truly taken great lengths to create this. The fountain towered over us in a series of tiers. Mighty lion heads carved intricately of stone were spotless of any imperfection and were a brilliant gold and brown. Tigers as well as other wildlife were mounted on the fountain with just as much detail. It was so realistic, it seemed their courageous, but friendly eyes were carefully watching over us. The remaining gaps and spaces were adorned with precious stones in vibrant colors and the delicate mist surrounding the fountain glittered in the sunlight, reflecting the colors of the rainbow. Crystal clear water spewed from the animal mouths and inside the tiers. The sight was majestic and truly stunning.

"What shall we visit next?"

He grabbed my arm and led me to a series of stalls and merchants as I gazed at the beautiful jewelry, precious gems, diamonds, pearls, and sapphires in addition to fake stones. I was eyeing them carefully, trying to capture every intricate detail, when something caught my eye. It was a white headband with apiece of jewelry structured like a five-petalled flower. It was primarily a white and metallic silver, with a slight bit of pink adding towards the ends of it. Gaps were filled with midnight black colored petals and in th center lay a black gem that shined even brighter with gold rings.(It looks like Code Electra's headband.) This reminds me of Moby, Remy, Oberon, and Ophelia, I bought fondly. Chung came into view.

"You like that one?" He asked.

I simply nodded while still examining it and he lightly took it, then conversed with the jewelry merchant.

"5,000 ED" the merchant said (couldn't think of any other numberxP)

Chung took it back and thanked the merchant and placed it lightly on my head and I blushed slightly.

"You did not have to purchase that for me Chung, I had enough money to buy it myself. I said with slight gratitude.

"It's a gift from me to you, and I saw that you wanted it so I got it!"

He smiled and beamed. I smiled back appreciatively before hugging him. "Thank you," I silently whispered. The rest of the evening was spent together window shopping and gazing at sights like fountains, statues, and gardens, time flew by instantly and over that time,I found myself relaxing, signs of tension gone when he was in my presence. Perhaps you were right. I checked my clock system and it read 11:45 p.m. already. Raven had requested earlier that we report at the town square by then to discuss our strategy before heading out and we both made our way to the square.

I sighed and then whispered, "It is time to get serious, we cannot make a single mistake, and we must tread with caution because sadly, the odds against us if we make a mistake? will not be in our favor this time."

**Everyone:glares***

**Me: I know it's shorter than usual and this was only Chung and Eve, but the other pairings will get their time to shine in Bethma and Altera. The next chapter is going to be a lot more exciting as well. It's an update at least and I hope you enjoyed it. Please R&R and F&F. :P**


	10. Chapter 10

When we arrived, Raven had already been discussing the strategy.

-"So we'll infiltrate Wally's Castle while we still have the element of surprise. Use firepower such as explosives sparingly, if not at all. We'll attract less attention that way. That means you Aisha and Chung. Be quick and silent until we face the boss, Eve scans the place For hazards."

"W-wow Raven, that's a pretty genius plan!" Elsword blurted grinning like a baka. Rena added to the praise as well.

"Luchiel, the accessories merchant as well as a former bandit helped me with the planning."

All but Raven and I gaped like a fish before quickly creating a straight face as we headed out quickly.

Silently creeping amongst the trees, we slipped in the shadows hoping that the colors of red, purple, silver, and blond would go undetected. Raven blended in perfectly, all but his intense golden eyes. However, the rest of us had to deal with the disadvantage and remain stealthy at all times. Looking up at Wally's Castle, I perceived it as an enormous fortress with heavy protection and tall smooth wall that seemed to touch the sky.

"Let's scale the walls," Elsword suggested.

We were expecting an ineffective plan from him, but as we looked, we realized he was right. The front entrance was blocked, heavily guarded by intimidating looking monsters. A window rather high up was the only option, there were no other options and it was the most logical. Now pondering as to how we would scale such a wall and reach the window, Rena volunteered saying,

"I'll go first and try to scale the walls by using my double jump. Then, I'll use extra strong arrows to pierce the walls for something to hold onto so the rest of you can climb safely."

Rena then sprinted into the bushels glide a gazelle, not snapping a single twig, as she gracefully lept by the guards.

(Rena's POV)

I ran as fast as I could, trying to imitate the silence of the chilly breeze in the air. imbuing the power of nature in my legs, I instantly gained a newfound strength. My movements almost inhuman, I ran up the smooth and polished walk with no footholds at all. Trying timbalance and save nature energy drained me and I knew that I couldn't keep this up. Focusing at the walls, I drowned my thoughts in plant life, tree roots, and grass and it worked as gnarled roots stuck my feet there like cement for a short duration. Carefully taking an arrow from my quiver, I stabbed the arrow into the solid wall and it gave way after adding some force. Despite the pressure, chunks of rock didn't rain down. _Thank the Lady of El that I got these pricey arrows, they're a life saver!_ I slowly climbed when the roots started to disappear, adding an arrow here and there until I reached the top. I gasped with relief and exhaustion and they gave a thumbs-up as I managed a weak smile.

"You're up next" I mouthe to Elsword and he grinned wickedly. I gave him my famous I'ma-murder-you-if-you-screw-this-up-face before he went and he seemed to get the message.

(Elsword's POV)

Gah Gravity! # %! I cursed under my breath. I can't use the power of nature or anything,( I kill every plant I touch) so this wast going to be easy. Nothing was easy anymore. Luckily, I had extremely strong arm strength. All this push-ups and test that pushed my limits to meet "Her" standards paid off. Careful not to break off any arrows, I made my way up and hoisted myself with my remaining strength in a final effort to get wiping sweat off of my forehead.

"Aisha," I whispered before settling in and eating a fried cracker.

(Aisha's POV)

I gulped at the large, tower-like castle as it loomed over me.

"Here goes nothing..."

Fidgeting, I shakily grasped an arrow trying to get up with my pathetic, sorry, non-existant* arm strength. _Who am I kidding? I can't even do a single push-up!_

"Don't give up!" Elsword whisper-shouted. I gave him a look, but it was replaced with gratitude. I managed 20 feet up, slowlyyy making my wa up like an ant. This isn't gonna work! Think Aisha! After a few moments of thinking, a lightbulb popped over my head. You're a genius! Using my levitating abilities, instead of floating down, I channeled my energy to go up, and I flew in short bursts. It sure wasn't doing my stomach any favors, but it sure was faster. I got up, landing on the window as Elsword grabbed my hand and hefted me up.

Not bad," He said, and I grinned back. Then mouthed "Raven" He smirked as if he had a trick up his sleeve and I wondered what he was trying to attempt.

(Raven's POV)

_Let's test this new stealth mechanism._ I angled my Nasod arm towards the window steadily and forced a steel wire out of it. Shooting out wildly, it pierced the wall and I tugged it several times to test it's strength, then combed up. My arm started to tire and I pressed a button and shot up like I was riding a demonic zip-line contraption, yanked the chord out, and stepped up.

"Eve." I said calmly, before surveying the area for any potential threats from this view.

(Eve's POV)

I took one glance at the wall, then glided up, my face calm as the freezing air flew over my face and my hair flapping about wildly. Shootings up, electric waves pulsed throughput my body, accelerating my already dangerous speed. When gravity decided not to cooperate,

"Gravity shift, reinforcement,"

The inside of my body reconstructed into a lighter, more agile, and flexible form as I defied gravity and double-jumped gracefully into the window.

(Chung's POV)

_Luckily, being afraid of heights wasn't one of my fears. Yay. But how I could get up there in an epic way,(or epic failing) would be a problem. Um,_ I thought, standing there all derpy for Eve. She faced palmed and I gave her a pleading look. She lept down, and I caught her, alarmed.

"I can safely make my way down independently, rest-assured Chung." She said, before I placed her down. She examined my armor closely and felt around it. I blushed madly, when she added,

"Do not think of dirty things,"

"I wasn't!"

I fumed _I'm supposed to be the innocent polite one... _I shook my head.

"Downloading software into Freturnier 40...60...90% complete. Gravity resistance jet pack installed."

"Eve, what did y-AHHH!

I screamed, surprised at my high-pitched girly voice. Shooting skywards, I flailed my arms around in panic, about to smash face-first into a glass window. _Yeah, realll heroic, screaming like a girl and about to get glass shards in my face. Nice. Fudge, Fudge, Fudge... I changed as if it were a curse or a prayer._

(Eve's POV)

I narrowed my eyes, trying to focus on him and glided up.

"Moby! Remy! Retrieve him!"

Suddenly, they doubled in size to even bigger than him and formed a barrier. He slammed into them and groaned.

"Thanks, Eve.."

"Chung, if you were to be injured, we would have to retreat for the time-being to tend to your injuries."

Sorry, by the way, Im never using this death contraption, I don't feel very well. Moby and Remy brought him up, and I glided away from ground-level.

"Phew, glad that was over..." He added.

"No, Chung, this is actually just the beginning."

We're in, excellent work everyone, but the worst is yet to come, like what Eve said." Raven replied.

We slipped behind a storage room enabling me to scan the castle fully. Scannning fow enemies...complete. Scanning environment...complete. My actions on auto-pilot.

"Hmm, this is quite troublesome, Wally is in the indicated direction." I pointed downwards. "Underground it seems."

Being on the top floor, we worked our way down into a large basement-like room of the sort lined with dim-lit candles and lanterns. As soon as we entered the room however, footsteps could be heard in the dark and we rushed about.

"Hide!" Rena and Aisha hissed before springing into action, but there was nothing to conceal themselves.

"May the user of this spell avoid detection, invisibility." Aisha chanted, then held her breath in the corner.

Rena double-jumped to the ceiling and used her last piercing arrow and hung there, hoping the people would not dare to look up.

"Cloaking ability, activate."I said and swung my arms down for it to come into effect, then used heat signature, and joined Aisha.

The boys scrambled about, screaming silently. Raven finally used his arm mechanism once more and joined Rena, grasping her in his arms. I raced out to Chung and hastily installed a cloaking device that would last a temporary five minutes and guided him towards a wall. We could clearly see each other, unlike the others who couldn't see us, since the cloaking we used were similar. Now, only Elsword remained, and the footsteps gradually got louder. He then did the unthinkable and stood there, holding his breath in plain sight.

_Baka! _I thought, but it was too late. 4 beefy soldiers had arrived in front of him, glaring fiercely.

"Binding Circle!" Aisha shouted and restrained their movement.

Elsord bashed one in the head and the soldier crumpled to the floor. Rena and Raven let go, and kicked them directly in the face, and Chung swung his cannon, knocking the last one unconcious. We dragged them away and I took their uniforms.

"Eve! What are you doing?!"

"I am simply being resourceful, using any means possible to blend in, like so,"

I put on the uniform over my clothing and proceeded to fold Moby and Remy into a satchel. The rest off the gang shrugged and put the uniforms on, but Chung stared at it.

"My armor, I can't put it over my armor."

"Take the armor off." We commented.

He furiously shook his head and I sighed.

"Must I always come to your aid?"

I pressed a button, and his armor became less bulky, yet keeping its' strength. We still kept a low profile, when we came across soldiers, the disguise seemed to be effective. Some questioned Elsword, Aisha, and Chung for their height, and suspicion rose due to my voice, but I do not think they deemed us a threat.

We finally reached the lowest level, and I pointed to a door, about to pass, when a a captain called over to us.

"Never seen you six around before, a bit too short some of you to be soldiers. Besides, only elites get to go into Wally's Chamber. Got any I.D.'s?" We froze and remained silent.

**Me: Done! I like this chapter :o**

**Chung: I feel, really useless, stupid, and non-heroic .-.**

**Eve: I feel quite overpowered with many functions I did not have. Such as gravity resistance and such. ._. Also, Chung, you are not a hindrance. Everyone else: I liked it. :D.**

**Me: Anyways, please R&R and F&F. Later~**


	11. Chapter 11

"We don't have I.D.'s" Raven growled.

The captain motioned us from us to get out in a harsh tone, and they began fiercely arguing. Rena did "the usual" and the captain backed away.

"You don't believe we are qualified?" Rena had venom in her words.

Honestly, arguing just wouldn't do. We were bound to catch attention at this rate. Officials were whispering and murmering to each other already. I took a quick analysis of the captain's I.D. and created several copies of them.

They're right here," I jabbed the faux I.D.'s in the captain's face, then motioned the gang towards the door, and they gave a grateful look before descending downstairs. It felt like an eternity, 1 minute seemed to be an hour. Until finally, we reached the chamber. Towering over us was a hideous monstrosity of steel and metals of rustic blue and yellow. Parts of it being wires and circuitry. Silver claws were attached like talons on the "hands" in the center was a small blue jewel and in the head lay a ruby red sphere that whirled, it seemed to serve as an eye of some sort. I glared, hate and flames flaring in my eyes, as my body crackled with electricity, dangerous to the touch. I realized, _this, this was a Nasod. This...this Thing! Is a Nasod! I-I do not recall the order to build this! Wally reigns supreme? NO! I shall now allow this!_ I found myself shouting instead of thinking of it in my head, unable to contain my steadily rising rage.

"I am Eve, Queen of Nasods. I demand that you stop bringing terror upon the citizens of Elder and step down from your so-called throne. I did not order the built of trash like you. You have tarnished the name of the Nasod race, and have caused much suffering. I exhile you from this once safe haven and if you shall not obey, there will be severe consequences."

"I AM WALLY. I REMAIN SUPREME. DEFY ME, AND FACE MY WRATH."

I shook my head in disgust. This thing. This was an "it." It was not diplomatic or resonating at all. It did not qualify to rule over others. Wally was a coward who dwelled in this chamber, craving power and dominance over "lesser beings." When truly, Wally was a lesser being than all of the citizens of elder, poor, or rich. These crimes called for hash disciplinary measures.

I glided towards Wally picking up as much speed as I could. Wally was slow and clumsy, with only physical strength and defense. It could not read my movements with its poor eye.

"Generate Black Hole!"

I gathered to metal slabs and out them together in a specific order allowing me to create a medium sized, but violent black hole. It sucked everything in the chamber whether it was an object, our enemy, or my allies. I switched the settings to only deem Wally as a threat and it vacuumed Wally in but its weight and mass was resisting. Wally dug its claws into the ground and anchored itself only to be slightly damaged by the ending explosion. The ground shook, and smaller explosions caused smoke to spread to the ceiling. Wally remained standing only with slight scratches as the smoke cleared.

My comrade's voices seemed small as they had been blown far away. Thankfully, they kept their balanced and skidded to a halt safely. Knowing that, I conducted a scan to find weak links in Wally's almost indestructible armor, only to have Wally's systems resist, as a series of red ERROR boxes appeared on my screen as I tried to hack.

_I will not lose to this thing!_ I thought as I furiously tapped at my controls. Wally took the opportunity to strike me, but the boys came to my aid, blocking the razor sharp claws from interrupting my work to overthrow Wally's resistance. The girls attacked from a distance as Rena conjured all the arrows she possibly could, imbuing several nature attributes into each one. Aisha blew fire and ice attributes onto them to make them even deadlier as a volley of multi chromatic arrows hailed over us like dangerous rain, but they bounced off Wally's thick armor. Only shallow scratches evident at its center. However, some managed to easily pierce the exterior circuitry and frost and flames embedded themselves deep into the wires.

I gritted my teeth as ERROR covered my whole screen. Wally was repelling my virus for a pile of scrap even sending back viruses into my system. _Is it possible, that I am outdated, compared to this?!_ I tapped at my controls with as much dexterity as I could, Moby and Remy pressing entree and delete every ow and then. A diagram popped up, red parts ssanded on the circuitry, the eye, and blue core as I shouted out the weaknesses. Rena acted as a sniper trying to shoot the eye. Wally whirred wildly, and the arrows bounced off once more. But most lodged into the center and shards of its hideous eye came off. Chung went into berserk mode and a silver helm appeared over his head and a mane of blue, engulfed in white flames surging with adrenaline along with unlimited ammunition. The White Wolf of Hamel indeed... I thought as he used Scare Chase and Detonation. It honed in on Wally and exploded causing the most damage so far. Switching in between loading and firing off artillery shells, as soon as Wally recovered, it was blasted in the face as Chung entered siege mode. Finding this rather humorous to have Wally so flustered and humiliated. I sat down for a cup of tea, only to have the teacup to melt as Wally said ENOUGH while launched intense waves if fire over the battlefield, then launching guided missiles. Aisha quickly put out the flames with ice and water turning it into steam to turn around right infront of a guided missile.

"Aisha! Watch out!" Elsword lept to her and countered, slashing the missile into two, then protected her from the explosion and she smiled with relief before they worked side by side, blocking and attacking in sync with each other.

Chung grasped me tight and dove for cover at the last minute as a missile directed its' attention to us. We successfully avoided it only to have it go towards Rena and Raven, they both blocked it brilliantly with a kick and a punch from a Nasod Arm, and they grinned at each other.

"Won't let you outdo my performance" Rena said grinning.

"Wouldn't want you to outdo me either." Raven said, grinning back at her.

They unleashed several powerful skills in between vicious combos, cooperating together wonderfully. As Rena brought Wally up with a skill, Raven would slam it back down with Earth Breaker.

I found myself watching the cooperation of my teammates, distracted. When an iron claw tried to jab me in the stomach. "Chung's "ears" flared up, and he instinctively brought his Destroyer up, clashing with Wally's talons. He dug his heels deep into the ground trying to repel the monster away from me. Inches of dirt heaved from the Earth and he began losing ground, the force too much to bear.

"Don't touch him!" I glared and shot a high-powered laser into its arms. Wally shuddered and withdrew as its circuitry exploded. I then drank an advanced mana potion, my mp reaching 300.

"Illusion Stinger!"

An array of electron balls crackled and blasted off the remains of Wally's eye and as I expected, the physical and magical defense buffs faded away as Wallto roared in pain. Elsword bashed at its arm with Fatal Fury and not surprisingly, the metal gave way, causing a huge dent . Wally was no longer an "indestructible" force. Raven rallied up our close combat users and they hacked and slashed at Wally's metal hide, severing wires and creating large dents. I hacked into the security card to find the rest of the buffs were in Wally's center core. The blue jewel on its chest. Wally rapidly switched from special defense, to defense buff instead of both due to the fact that it was losing energy quickly. This proved to be ineffective. We had both magic and physical users so it was quickly easy and flexible to switch tactics, causing massive pain from a sharp piece of steel, to a wide selection of explosives and magic elements.

Aiming for the core, I only had one shot, and one shot alone. Wally raced towards me and I used Photon Blink absconding backwards, the plasma and electricity substitution deployed, stunning Wally when it came on contact, invincible for a few moments. I seized the opportunity.

"Dimension Link Blader!"

This was not the most powerful attack in my arsenal, but the laser would land a direct hit into the core if my calculations were correct. Then I noticed something was terribly wrong.

"Wait, this is not a part of Wally's battle patterns!"

Wally charged up in its blue core, seemingly gathering all of its strength, plasma, and electricity.

"Take cover!" Raven shouted and we dove behind a nearby boulder.

An enormous gold beam shot out of the center. Searing the back of our hairs. Wally spun out of control, launching several beams, in every direction and the ceiling started to crack and give way.

"We can't stay here! The chamber is going to collapse on us! Teleport!" Aisha shouted, and we were enveloped in a bright intense light.

**Me: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R and F&F~**


	12. Chapter 12

It seemed that we were back to where we had started at the center square, though, my systems were too disoriented to clearly make out the environment. Hoffman was there to greet us.

"Have you cleared Wally's Castle?"

"Wally, sadly, had fled to another area. It is unknown where it had fled since I cannot pinpoint its location, but luckily, without their leader, the soldiers and bandits are without command so I do not expect them to wreak havoc here. Wally is probably in hiding, recovering its wounds like a lowly mutt with its tail between its legs, that monstrous "Nasod."

Hoffman still dismissed us with thanks after showering us with praise and gratitude as well as a portion of awards from highly known merchants. Fully stocked and wealthy, we discussed our next course of action.

"The next stop, Bethma, has harsh, buffeting sandstorms, blistering heat, and a dry climate. It'll be a difficult journey and the monsters are just as tough. We may not make it far if the monsters are as strong as Wally. We probably won't save ourselves along with the town,"

We all grew silent because we knew that it was true, wishing we were stronger. I too, sought strength for we were in our breaking points, but I do not whine and mope to get stronger, I will find out how and apply it.

Hoffman appeared behind us, overhearing our conversation when he suggested a person names Camilla who specialized in combat and also managed the Sparring and Arena System. We aimlessly walked around to find Camilla in the center square, yelling her heart out occasionally, with a megaphone, while smiling with a toothy grin.

"Arena? Sparring Test your skills here! How about you, sir? You seem tough! She shouted cheerfully, motioning towards Raven.

"Err, no, Hoffman told us that we should ask you to become stronger."

"Then Arena and Sparring is for you~ Let's spar first!"

Not wanting to question Camilla's "expertise" we reluctantly entered a completely barren room except for a portal.

"Who wants to go first?!" She said in almost an insane tone.

"I'll go!" Elsword and Aisha blurted out angrily.

They whipped their heads around and glared angrily at each other and started snapping at each other as if they were having a contest on who is most loud and obnoxious right in front of everyone. Raven and Rena sighed and walked away to the corner of the room and started chatting while Chung just sat there confused. I slowly brought my palm up in anger indicating that they'd best run away, when Camilla cut us off.

"No! No! No! That just won't do, you two are too weak, scrawny, and annoying! To-tal kids. Sorry little tikes, but Sparring and Arena is too dangerous for the likes of you. (Not to mention you're not tall enough to battle) she murmured while holding her hand above their heads, indicating how tall they should be. Now shoo! I wasn't going to pick you anyways!"

They gave her a murderous look that would make even Rena jealous, then charged at her like total buffoons. _I wonder how Camilla will react if Hoffman stated that she was that much of an expert with such high appraise. She seems awfully not fit for the job. _I closed my eyes momentarily to blink, but when I opened them, Elsword and Aisha where sprawling over the floor in pain while Camilla didn't look like she moved a muscle as she continued talking about the rules and principles of Sparring.

We remained rather silent, when Chung shyly rose his hand.

"Are you sure kid? Don't want you getting hurt, that would be bad for business and I would have to complete paperwork on your death."

Chung sweat-dropped, then politely insisted, Camilla nodded, when Elsword volunteered again.

Camilla seemed to be thinking, Hmm..both scrawny and short...but no.

She asked what were our weapons of choice.

"Sword, Cannon, Magic, Elven Martial Arts and Bow and arrow, Sword and arm, Nasod battle units."

"Okay, Chung and...Rena! Step up!"

Before they could react, Camilla pushed them into the portal as we surveyed them from a readied themselves as Chung swiftly loaded his cannon, and Rena charged mp.

"FIGHT!" Camilla shouted from the intercom.

They both raced at each other, picking up speed. Rena suddenly did a quick backflip, then shot three, 45 degree angled arrows. It harmlessly bounced off of Chung's armor, but he cringed, surprised. She went in for the kill, falling fast as she did a sliding kick which didn't seem to cause a massive burn and pain from the friction of her leg and the ground, then brought him up in the air with her heel.

(Rena's POV)

I quickly scanned him for weaknesses in his armor, before identifying them, and shot arrows into the air in quick succession and some managed to pierce is armor. He squealed in pain, and I looked up concerned, before he was quickly brought down with a ground stomp launching me slightly up as he bashed at me several times, reloading his cannon in between that also hit me. Chung flung me afar as if I was a rag doll, then shot me six times in seige mode, then stopped as I fell, hard, on a rocky platform. The air rushed out of my lungs, escaping me, and I became breathless, trying to gulp in air. He remained in the spot he was in and just looked at me, still holding back, and so am I. _I could have easily jumped out of harm,_ I got up quickly, and kicked his chest, but it was like kicking a tree with all that armor on and it ended up as recoil, hurting me as well, I gritted my teeth slightly and continued kicking, if he was afar, I would shoot him with nature arrows causing it to pierce, then finished off with a roundhouse kick before he would fall onto a platform several feet below and launched a Rail Stinger, A gigantic green arrow emerged from my bow. The arrow shot forward forcefully, bringing me back slightly and causing me to dig my heels into the Earth as it went in a straight line making the sound of howling wind as it soared past. He shakily got up, and swung at me, but I double-jumped out of it. Chung somersaulted behind me and shot off a cannonball with a loud bang, damaging my sensitive ears and I shut my eyes, trying to recover my momentary deafness.

"Scare Chase!"

He finished off with a honing missile, something that I wouldn't be able to easily escape from, and a blue explosion blasted me to the floor and I landed gracefully, feet first.

"Okay! Enough! Battle's over! The both of you were obviously holding back. Chung, Rena could easily jump out of your combo and you're a bit slow, another smaller, ranged weapon or two would compensate for that weakness and make you more agile, a gun would do nicely, kid. Rena, the arrows bounce off of the kid's armor easily, as making it a waste of mp. Your kicks too. Although both are strong, something is also missing for you. A dagger would be easy to conceal and find specific weak chinks in a heavily armored person. Also, traps would be pretty helpful and effective to pierce through their defense." _She truly was the suitable person to consult with. Quite the expert at close and ranged combat._

(Camilla's POV)

"Okay! Eve and, Raven!" _They both seem strong besides Rena. This will be interesting._

(Eve's POV)

She harshly shoved us into the portal and watched from a safe distance. We were about town meters and five feet away from each other, Raven's facial expression was dead serious as he silently unsheathed his thin, but swift sword. I wore the same face and held Moby and Remy at the ready.

"FIGHT!"

Our eyes sharpened as we raced at each other at extreme speeds. I stopped halfway through our sprint, then turned around, not facing him anymore.

"Photon Blink."

I retreated backwards, untouchable for a few moments and he passewright through me, as I had anticipated. I smirked slightly at my reverse psychology technique, designed to trap fast opponents in a more efficient way. Raven seemed a bit surprised, but he seemed to turn into a shadow and stepped away right through it without getting harmed. He didn't even get stunned by the plasma and electricity that I carefully conjured, with my plan ruined I got ready for what would happen next. I expected as much from an experienced person such as him. We were both left without injury besides the mana that we had wasted. Raven used another Shadow Step, slightly confusing my systems, but I could still detect the movement and I successfully blocked his strike to the fist. He was stronger physically however, and my hand withdrew as I tried to gain some distance. My palm throbbed in pain as it swelled and became discolored with a red instead of ivory color. Raven seemed fine however, he rushed at me once more while I was still examining my hand and I bit back a curse. Slashing at me quickly with the dull part of his blade, a million cuts and scars appeared on my clothing and punctured my delicate skin, tainting the shallow cuts with the color scarlet. I grimaced as I was finally knocked down with three powerful punches to the chest and stomach, grinding his knuckles into my skin and causing bruises, then caused a blow to my chest with the hilt of his blade. Gasping for air I flipped and got back up, trying to regulate my breathing systems. He isn't going to go easy on me, _so be it Raven._

I grabbed Moby while I was still facing the ground, then whirled around to face Raven and slammed him straight in the face with my battle unit. I took Remy, and kicked it on Raven's knee and his legs buckled for a short moment. Raven almost crumpled to the floor, surprised, and I kneed him in the chin so that he could look up, then slapped him, hard, turning his face to the side. I hit him multiple times like a boxer with Moby and Remy, socking him in the face mercilessly with my heavy drones before slamming my boot into the ground. Moby and Remy fused into spears at my feet, launching Raven into the air, and chained my electronballs skyward. But, no, I wasn't quite done yet. I used Phtoon Blink to catch him, and then summoned a Nasod Scout. Weak looking, and it was, but I knew the extra benefits it had for summoning one. While I hit Raven. The Nasod scout scuttled around, shooting beams and lasers, stunning Raven. _3...2...1..._**_  
_**

BZZT* The Nasod scout finally exploded, leaving Raven on the floor. I placed my foot over him and stared at him emotionlessly.

"It seems that I have won."

**Me: Oohh~ I made this chapter epic:o**

**Eve: smirks***

**Raven: growls***

**Electricity sparks in the air and we all sweat-drop ^^;***

**Me: o-o. Ahem* Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please R&R and F&F~ Later!**


	13. Chapter 13

I offered my hand, pulling him up and withdrew my boot from his chest. He sighed.

"Good Game,"

"I agree, it was quite the even match and I truly enjoyed it."

Hm, they are both impressive, there is little to improve on them.

There isn't a lot of advice I can give you, but I know that you two need to improve. Eve, your endurance and tricks up your sleeves are lacking, your palm is probably swollen from that blow. Try to counter and catch better, without having to use your drones that is. Your electricity skills need work as well knowing that they add some nice chunks of damage, but they're slow. Although Photon Blink was an excellent strategical idea, it failed. If it had worked, the stunning ability would prove to be invaluable in a battle. So stunning, less reliance on battle units, and electrical attacks...Lasers and electron balls would prove to fit nicely under that category!

Raven, you're excellent. All I can tell you is, what are you going to do with that Nasod Arm? Resist, and work on your swordsmanship to increase speed and agility, or strengthen your arm even further to cause massive pain and power. But, what are the risks of each path? Pro's? Con's? Think about that.

Anywaysss, all there's left is er, Red Head and Purple Head! Yeah! (Something alon those lines) Cherry, you excel in close combat with a sword, and Grape, you prefer ranged attacks with magic? Good, perfect.

"It's Elswo-"

It's Aish-"

They didn't even get the chance to correct Camilla ad she rudely shoved them into the portal.

"You know, you guys don't have to WAIT for Strawberry and Grape to finish sparring. It might take awhile. I oh so conveniently, designed a job change quest for each of you to pick and accept on the quest board, so stop by at the quest board and get a job change to get stronger!"

I headed out with the remainder of the gang. Rena, Raven, Chung, and I. Luckily, the quest board was right outside, so we did not have to stray afar. The quest board was an old, almost ancient wooden slab covered in clusters of messy, white paper. Some more recent than others. The less recent papers seemed to be dated back to ancient times, and I brushed them ever so carefully, only to have the yellowing paper crack to my touch. The papers were "arranged" ahem buried* under a thick pile of guild advertisement such as one called Solace's Wing, a freedom guild, quests to help out the current situation of the village, and money, item, and potion rewards. We shuffled through the crowd of people, before they parted like in the reading of Moses and the Red were possibly aware that we had saved Ruben, and now Elder.

_Rumors must spread like wildfire._ I stepped in and shuffled through the crowd of papers that were not yet accepted to narrow my search, before the rest came to search as well. Growing impatient and frustrated, (Although I did not show it,) I scanned the quest board. It displayed what the Quest Board would look like if it was in a neat, orderly fashion. I organized the sheets of a paper one at a time with utmost carefulness and dexterity. The work was tedious, exhausting my hands, but I had fixed it in record timing. I then proceeded to acquire a purple sheet labelled "Job Change Application" meant and assigned specifically to me just as Camilla had stated. I handed the rest of the needed papers to them, and the crowd dispersed before re-crowding and marveling at the almost new quest board, neat, and organized, courtesy of myself. I filled in all the answers on the sheet, not wanting to waste any precious time on the completion of this quest except for one question. It had three branches similar to a web with two rectangular boxes in each branch. The first tier was already filled in, whereas the second had question marks on them and T.B.D. Which, I assumed was "To be determined." I started to read: Code Exotic, Code Architecture, and Code Electra. I checked Code Electra first,

Code Electra: Class of lasers and electricity. A rare, ancient, Nasod code used to amplify electricity usage and maximum voltage power for combat. Allows one to increase attack power without the use of traditional battle units. It was mostly used by mechanics in wars to design and build superb weaponry increasing magic attack, speed, and overall performance as well with armor. Related to the built of the Freturnier. This code was also used for battling as well, by releasing volts of deadly electron beams supplied by El-force that can afflict a variety of affects such as stunning, piercing, and temporary blindness.

I moved onto the next class, always reading each option's description carefully before selecting my final decision. Code Architecture: Class of Nasod Combat and mechanical devices used thousands of years ago. Commonly used by aristocrats and Nasod Mechanics. This code was also used for combat as well, by commanding their mechs/drones to attack to their bidding of the wielder is lacking in physical attack and defense. The drones block and absorb damage for them. Extremely reliant on drones.

Lastly, Code Exotic: Ancient Nasod code specializing in combat and hard-wired for battle. Specializing in war, Code Exotic specializes in spears and hazardous metal objects as well as explosives. It was used by Nasods seeking power, but most became corrupt and twisted from the destructive code. If one remains sane while this code is in use however, it can prove to be valuable if the user maintains sanity as to the fact that Nasod battle units aren't heavily relied on leaving the user less vulnerable and physically stronger. Contains a multitude of skills and attacks as well as party buffs, gaining exceptional mobility and remaining agile in the process. It is a restricted version of Q-Proto_00's Code.

I pondered on the best job change. One that would aid me in every situation. One that would help me 'in the long-run' Carefully inspecting the pro's and con's of each code would be the most thorough way to select. I only had one chance, and one chance alone. I started with Code Architecture. A code specializing in mechanics and Nasod units..._no._ I had been told that my priorities lie with not being heavily dependent on drones. This code would defeat that purpose. Though,_ if I were to create more Nasod allies, that would be vital for the re-population of my race._ However, starting by creating combat drones were a necessity at the moment and i disheartened me to think about creating new units from scratch.** Replacement.** I favored Oberon, and Ophelia, my loyal assistants/servants alone. Making another to accommodate to my needs would be equivalent to betrayal, or a royal slap to the face.

I moved on to the next code, Code Exotic. A code that specialized in spears, sharp objects, and explosions. Entitling myself, "Mistress of Destruction." The title had a nice ring to it, and the destruction of my foes was what I really seemed to need right now. Code Exotic truly seemed to be the ideal path. I rose my palm and brought it onto the paper, the ink of my pen almost checking it off, I then hesitated, reading the third and last sentences.

_ Power for the heavy price of sanity. If sanity abandoned me, what would be the point? With the possibility of this code corrupting me, what would the outcome be to my comrades? To Chung? Would I possibly, turn against them? A traitor due to my change in characteristics? I simply did not want to take the risk, the dangerous gamble. I might throw my ambitions away, allowing them to get swept away by violence, the rebirth of my kingdom slipping from my mind. Worse yet, recreating my civilization to destroy others. Innocent, pleading lives, I would be a monster, like Wally, with an iron fist, authority over all as they grovel before me, bowing against their will. A throne of spears, midnight black and drenched in my victims blood._

My palm shook and I almost dropped my pen, but held it firmly. _I shall not choose Code Exotic._ Code Electra seemed to be the most reasonable option out of the two, using process of elimination. Nevertheless, I read the description once more. Lasers and electricity. Camilla had recommended it, the class seemed perfect. The slight draw back was that this was one of the most rare codes, requiring rare materials to activate and function properly. I needed the following: Several Large El Shards, and some kind of core system. The El scarce to find with all the impurities and darkness affecting the area. They were considered exceedingly rare, especially since El is strict at this time. _This is the code I seek_ _though._ Checking it off, I had completed the application, hesitated for the last time, checking it over once more, then Accepted Quest. Luckily, I did not have to go through many tedious dungeon runs to obtain Large El Shards. I then embarked on my journey to complete my quest, heading towards Ruben. My destination? The Tree of El.

I gazed up an enormous, beautiful tree, lush with leaves of many shades of green, reaching out the branches, hugging onto them. They tree branches swayed gently in the cool, fresh, air. It glowed a greenish blue hue, particles of floating off of it and onto my face and hair, like fine, powdered snow. I reached out, catching one, before it diminished into thin air, sparkling as it faded. The bark of the ancient tree was whimsical, filled with etched in lines and swirls veiled in mystery. The center base was broad and welcoming. Sunlight filtered in the area, seeping through the leaves.

Light seemed to encircle it as if attracted to the tree, highlighting its details. I took gratitude that such a beautiful natural structure still existed after these long centuries. I closed my eyes to welcome it all. Nobody seemed to be around. Opening my eyes to examine the tree for what I sought after, I glided to the peak, noticing that towards the ground were only traces of El, and the uppermost branches had clusters that were medium sized. I knelt at the suitable branch, clustered with large El crystal. Clack!*

I broke off several pieces of El, turning it around in my palm. The El was bluish white, with the slightest bit of sea green. Depending on the sunlight, and which way you were turning the El, it was either azure, or a transparent white. I held it close to my heart and felt warmth and good memories flood into my systems as if it held a mystical and curing property. _No wonder many sought after the El. This is beautiful. However, greed and hunger for power through El is wrong. I will get what is needed and be on my way._ I leaped off the edge and descended quickly, the wind whipping my hair before landing gently on the ground with a double-jump. I left after one last glance at the holy ground.

Now all I need is a core-like system to power the code... Where can I find that..? For all I am aware of, all the core capsule are all gone. Even in Altera. Perhaps... yes, I remember, the capsule Elsword and the Gang had found me in. Although it is damaged, I can try to repair it, it is the only lead I have at the moment, might as well try. I jogged for a few miles, somehow knowing exactly were it was. Not far from here. Sure enough, there was the damaged capsule.

I peered inside to find the outer casing cracked from were Elsword had shattered it. Surprisingly, pink fluid was still evident on the floor. The keyboard and screen were slightly ruined from the fluid and a few wires and circuitry was jutting out from holes, but other than that, it was fine. I may be able to repair it with the power and knowledge I have acquired. Sliding the broken glass away with my foot to the corner of the chamber, I stretched, before getting to work knowing that this was going to take awhile. I worked continuously for 3 hours, first cleaning the keyboard before my hands tapping at the controls. My eyes would have been bloodshot if I wasn't a Nasod, and I borrowed Moby and Remy's energy occasionally while at work to keep going, like caffeine for humans. My hands felt as if someone had smacked them with a ruler several times, they were sore and swollen, but I kept my eyes fixed on the screen.

It was blank, the screen, all memory seemingly lost. I inputted the rest of the data on Code Electra from a USB I had created 2 hours ago by plugging it into my horns, seeing that there was nothing to insert the USB in. Then the Large ElShards in my other horn. The data appeared across my eyes. CLICK.* I pressed enter, validating the information, hoping that the system would take it and proceed with the plan. Inputting data...30%...60%...100% complete. Data accepted.

" Okay, or Cancel?"

I said Okay and the system register my voice's answer, recognizing it.

"Thank you for choosing Code Electra, Code of electron beams and lasers. Please close the case behind you my Queen, we shall inform you when Code Electra has activated."

I closed my eyes, after all this hard work, it had paid off. I gazed up at the sky from my capsule, were there used to be a roof. Now it was all open. I preferred it that way, to look at the night sky. The stars shined bright. It was beautiful. It made me incredibly drowsy, as if persuading me to sleep. With my eyes heaving, and my hands sore, I nestled with Moby and Remy, eagerly awaiting for the Code to activate in the morning, satisfied with what I had accomplished.

**Elsword and Aisha: Why the heck are we called Cherry and Grape?! **

**Me: Because I said so:I and if you guys hadn't noticed, I had also gotten the whole plugging wires into Eve's horns from the anime Chobits, it just seemed fitting:P**

**Me: Well, thank you for reading this chapter! Please R&R and F&F. Till next time~ Fades away into the background.***


	14. Chapter 14

I awoke by a certain familiar system voice,

"Good Morning My Queen, We have installed Code Electra, it is now fully functional."

I sat up in my glass chamber, trying to recall what I had done last night. I then remembered: _the Electra Code, I have finally found it, after all the hard work to acquire the materials and repair the chamber, I had finally found it._ My palms brought me up, and my legs felt like lead as dizziness overcame me, forcing me to sit back down. _I feel...off. Something is different with my systems, yes, that was expected, but another thing as well..._ I approached the clear wall, but it served as a poor mirror and I could not see my reflection. Picking up the largest shard of broken glass from the floor, I angled it towards my face, and what I saw intrigued me.

The usual medium-length silver hair that I was so fond of was now down to my thighs, it swayed with every movement I made and was extremely straight. I touched the jewel that was always propped onto my forehead, and felt breaking instead of the feathery front bangs I originally had. They were side-swept bangs across my forehead, just above my half-lidded eyes gold eyes, highlighting them, and bringing even more attention towards my face. I blinked, before running my fingers like a comb through my perfect locks. I had grown significantly taller as well, even my clothes were different, but I did not know how. The changes were indeed dramatic towards my appearance.

I stood up, and glided away, the chamber of no use to me at the moment. Golden bangles clanged a my wrists, another thing I had noticed. My outfit was shorter than my liking, restrict my movement instead of boosting it, due to conservativeness, being concious of what I wore. It was tight and short like a bathing suit, clinging to my skin. I shivered, even though it was a relatively warm, spring day. I was wearing a primarily white dress, accented with brown, pink, and black outlining it. The bottom half was one fourth the length of my thighs, much to my discomfort. It was elegantly beautiful though, with the center of my chest lay a radiant and truly exquisite blue jewel, much like the Elshards I had collected.

To my dismay, it was El. The El was about the size of my palm, covering most of my chest, fastened in place by a hollow, outlined with gold. The dress' neckline was quite low, leveled with my armpits and two more jewels were on each of my thighs were fastened by a metal grip with a plate on each side, outlined black, completing the stunning outfit as well as enhancing defense. To make up for the lack of length were boots, knee-high, contrasting with the shortness of my petite dress. I had sleeves however, but they did not connect to the dress, beginning at my shoulders, and ending at my wrists. I admit that I was "thrilled" at my current state and I felt much stronger. I turned the corners of my mouth into a smile.

"Particle Ray," was what escaped from my lips.

I whipped around and El-power and electricity shot out of my fingertips. The beam was concentrated into a sphere before shooting forward into a ray, blasting a large hole into a nearby tree. I examined my hand as it glowed bright blue. The power it released was admirable, stronger than most of my base skills I had in my arsenal. Particle Ray was perhaps lesser only to Generate Black Hole. This will be interesting, it would be wise to test this newfound power of mine to increase overall control and skill, then I shall meet up with the rest of the gang. A large clearing in the middle of the thick forest appeared. Perfect. I flexed my hand and moved my fingers, before launching a Particle Ray into a nearby lake. The ray came in contact with the lake and crackled, becoming a dangerous body of electricity. I threw a piece of wood in, and it was completely charred as I took it out, examining it. I wasn't quite satisfied yet.

I breathed in, gathering all the El-Energy stored in my body, and shouted, "Giga Stream."

An amplified white and blue beam bursted out of my fingertips, after forming a large force-field for myself and keeping the power flowing smoothly. I aimed it towards the lake and the pressure caused a massive splash, taking out three fourths of the body of water. What was left was but a pool of dangerous El-Energy, streaks swimming about like an electric eel. The water rained down on me and I got soaked, covering my face with my hands. I then looked up at the sky, to see a small, but stunning rainbow that I had created from the water droplets and mist. _Beautiful..._ I brushed my hands together, I must perfect this code, without control over this power, Code Electra, as well as the other codes will be useless. I had been honing my skills and accuracy for several hours now, firing off one beam after the other. Electron beams crackled and electricity infused spears jutted out at my feet causing displays like bright fireworks in the air. I panted slightly, the amount of mana I had exerted left me slightly fatigued with each laser I made. Wiping off a bead of perspiration off of my forehead, I headed out towards the Elder in. _I'm done here, it is about 5:00 in the afternoon and I had already mastered Particle Ray and Giga Stream._ Entering the doorway, I headed for the closest room which was Rena's. I was eager to see everyone, one by one, to see how they progressed, or if they had changed somehow like I did. I knocked lightly on Rena's door, and stepped into the doorway, although she had not replied. I saw familiar blonde-green tresses and felt somewhat excited for my friends to see my new form, and how they would react. She turned around and she gasped, her emerald eyes wide in surprise.

"Eve, you look amazing, and so very different! In a good way that is, I'm guessing that the job change went well?"

"Yes." Was all I could say, even though thousands of thoughts were clouding my mind. I ran my fingers through my hair. "You look different as well."

"Oh, yes, I was just lingering near the quest board, not in that much of a rush, when something caught my eye. Am organization called, "The Night Savers" It was linked to elves, so naturally, it drew my interest, and I quickly became a member once they recognized my experience. I visited the tree of Eldrasil, and it bestowed a mystical gift to me, a dagger, the Blade of Erendil. became a person of traps, arrows, and daggers, just as Camilla had recommended. I became the Trapping Ranger.

I looked at her more closely, and her hair seemed more wild and wind-tossed, but still flawlessly beautiful. Black ribbons circled loosely around her hair and it seemed extremely long, and below her thighs. She had a revealing outfit that showed more skin similar to mine, black and dark green with the slightest bit of silver and brown leather. Belts and studs held her outfit in place. What interested me the most, was her bow. I glanced at the corner of the room, and she took the bow. It was black, with green patterns like leaves, and an ivory colored dagger of gold and rubies. My train of thought was interrupted.

"Eve, can you fetch the rest of the gang? I still need to run a few errands. We'll assemble today and I plan on arriving at Bethma before nightfall."

"Of, course," I replied before exiting the room.

**Me: Sorry, this chapter isn't that good and is short, but I just really wanted to update today:P And yeah, I'm aware that half of the story is description TT A TT**

**Everyone: Shame.**

**Me: I will try to make sure that next chapter will improve, and yes Yumi-San Angel, I chose all your favorite job classes. I was having trouble with a few of them, but those suggestions helped a lot:D Thank you for reading this and please R&R and F&F.**


	15. Chapter 15

(Eve's POV)

I knocked on Aisha's door lightly, hearing nothing, I entered, only to find the room empty. Moving onto Elsword's room, the result was the same, mysteriously barren. I sighed irritably, _Where could they have gone?_ Raven's room appeared, I swung open the door after tapping lightly and waited for ten seconds. The door was slightly ajar, and the wind blew it open. Like the other two rooms, this one was unoccupied as well. I shivered, the room was colder than the rest, I rubbed my arms trying to create friction and generate heat. A gentle draft was coming from the inside of the room. Curtains flapped in the breeze and the windowsill was fully opened. How odd... I leaned over the window to gaze outside. It wasn't a far drop, we were on the lower level floor, any athletic person could leap out without injury, and bushes could cushion their fall below. Disturbed, I closed the window shut and moved onto the last room besides my own. Chung's. _Maybe he is not present as well._ I walked in anyways without knocking. _He would not mind if it is me._ Thankfully, Chung was there, sitting on his bed. The first thing that caught my eye was his hair. It was longer a cute bowl cut. His hair was spiked slightly, though it was natural looking, it was less feminine, and it suited him well. _Chung looks very good, like royalty._ A blush rose to my cheeks, tainting them pink, then scarlet. I quickly shut the door, too late, my actions were delayed and Chung had noticed me, but I believe just a part of my face. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Eve?"

He opened the door quickly and peered out. I used invisibility/cloaking. He swept his hair to the side and blinked.

"I thought I saw Eve, even though it's been a day only, I miss her," he whispered out loud.

The sentimental words made me cringe, tugging at the strings of my heart. I quickly cut cloaking off and hugged me tightly. He looked alarmed, but I did not care. I weaved my arms around his back and laced my fingers with his, he embraced me back.

"I missed you, and you look really pretty." He commented shyly while blushing.

"I could say the same to you," I added.

He brushed the hair out of my eyes. Chung was now at my height, no longer shorter than Aisha and he held more seriousness, but with the same gentle smile. We told each other what had happened to us yesterday when we were in each other's absence, how I found Code Electra and what I had done to get it, and his haircut.

"Rena said it was too girly, feminine, and that you wanted a real man o-o So, she cut my hair, but first had to chase me around the room first." He exclaimed shuddering.

"Wait here!" He said joyfully.

_Still childish as always it seems,_ I thought laughing. Chung came back with the headband he had bought me. I had not worn it yet, it seemed too special to wear. He took it from his palm, swept my bangs to the side, and placed it into my long hair.

"There! It looks perfect. It suites you."

Another surprise, the hollow place in the headband glowed bright blue and was replaced with a brilliant gem. _I felt, complete. The thing I was missing was Chung it seemed._

"Thank you." Was all I could manage. Today was full of surprises. I smiled genuinely and he smiled back.

"Oh, um, can I ask you something? I need your opinion on this thing."

"If it is about your job change, pick whatever you feel is the right choice. You do not need other opinions to help make a choice and go down the proper path. Use your judgement, and your judgement alone." I replied plainly.

He seemed stunned by my words, but then nodded slowly.

"You're, right. I should follow your advice though, you always know what to say." He commented in adoration.

I rolled me eyes, something I didn't usually do, and laced my fingers through his hair.

"You really are quite the charming prince aren't you? Before I met you and the Elgang, I was emotionless, now, I feel free and bursting with life. I just applied it, I suppose, into my words."

"I'm glad to hear that. He said sincerely. But, now that I've made up my mind of getting shooting guardian, will you help me make a gun for my job change, please? It's perfect. Camilla recommended for me to use a gun, and I can lighten my cannon and everything!"

Chung said it in such a sugary tone, it was hard to resist. He was using what Rena called, "Puppy Dog Eyes."It was dangerous, unavoidable, and for Chung, literal. His blue eyes were literally puppy dog eyes with those paw print shaped pupils making them even more volatile. I tried to resist, but my defenses were easily crumbled by his cheery attitude. Curses! I sighed,

"If that is what you request, then I shall make you a gun. What do you have in mind?"

"Yes, thank you, Eve!"

He got up towards the table, got a sheet of paper, and we got to work, making a first draft for his weapon. We worked until the Sun began to set, and I reminded myself of Rena's wishes. That we depart by nightfall and arrive at Bethma. I informed Chung, and he nodded, tucking the draft gingerly in his shirt pocket before we headed out and shut the door behind us. We entered Rena's room, and she seemed happy to see us.

"So, did you assemble the rest of the gang by now, Eve?~ Where are they, I only see Chung." She peered behind me as if more people would be behind Chung. I sweat dropped before cleared my throat after a moment of silence.

"Ah, No, Rena, I have noted Elsword, Aisha, and Raven's absence, I apologize, I spent the rest of the evening to help Chung create a rough draft on his new weapon, a gun."

She sighed irritably and groaned, before stating, "Ugh! I don't have time for this. C'mon, let's go get the rest of the gang." She then gave a tired smile and added, "I'm sorry, now let's go, I really want to get to Bethma by nightfall."

We checked out of the inn and walked into the bustling crowd of merchants on the streets. Rena and Chung squinted, trying to push and weave through the crowd.

"We'll never find them at this rate! It's too populated here!" Rena and Chung shouted over the crowd in unison just to be heard.

"Eve, scan the area, I don't have time for hide-and-seek." Rena stated.

Now it was my turn to be irritated, bossing me around as if I was not the Queen of Nasods. The things I do for my "friends." I scanned the perimeter, but I still could not identify who we were seeking amongst the crowd. Old tricks won't work, I might as well test out my abilities lengths and perhaps unlock a new one. I concentrated on one point in my body, but it didn't work. I then thought, focusing intensely on the area near my headband. It seemed to be working and the area glowed, Moby and Remy were being affected as well. The El stored under their bellies seemed to shine even brighter and intenser than before.

"Advanced El Energy Reactor." Energy surged through my body and the electricity crackled at my core, eager to release.

"Photon Booster"

Yet another buff supplied me with more abilities. I scanned the area with ease, my sight ran ahead as I commanded it to do so. It scanned an even wider area and a longer distance, surpassing my normal procedures. Hardly tiring, my sight weaved quickly through the crowd and beyond the vast town of Elder and into the forest. The images were crystal clear and sharpened every tiny detail. A Phoru scrounging for food, dragonflies zipping about, and a field of wildflowers. It truly was breathtaking in this perspective, seeing nature at it's finest. I watched as birds skimmed gently through the water to catch fish in the lake. My eyes then widened and my face twisted with confusion. The once clear illustrations blurred in a matter of seconds. What is happening? I pressed further only to see hazy images, when it started not to work all together. Malfunctioning at this moment, how? It was fine a moment ago... what is going on out there?

"Rena. Chung, I think I have an idea where they are."

They nodded, "Lead the way."

With Photon Booster, I was significantly faster and could glide for a longer period of time. Rena and Chung kept up by my side. We had already begun to get off the roads and pavement and into thick grass and flowers.

"Are you sure this is the way? It's awfully far off from the inn."

"I'm positive. Do not doubt me Rena, I know you are worried for Raven."

She blushed madly lagging behind, when she quickened the pace, using the power of the winds to aid her movement and agility. A look of worry evident on her face, then a brave one filled with determination and courage. We had passed the cluster of dragonflies zipping in the air, and then ran straight through the field of wildflowers as the sun fell, all using straight faces. I knew this was the right path as we stopped at the lake I had seen. The flock of birds that were once there could not be found. Everything seemed to have fled, the air was still, and nothing stirred. Rena broke the silence.

"Hello! Raven? Elsword? Aisha?"

(Rena's POV)

I heard a low grunt from a nearby willow tree. Ducking under the branches, I went to investigate. They followed. And there he was. Tan skin, and dark hair, face full of scars, laying motionless under the tree. Seemingly not breathing. I gasped and checked Raven's vitals. He was breathing, but it was shallow and weak. Raven seemed unconscious, almost dead, as if he was in a coma. I moved him around to check for any injuries. Bloodied bruises, cuts and gashes, anything, but found none. I sighed in relief and sat under the tree, accompanying him. Eve emerged and did the same, checking to see how he was. While she was doing that, My body was overloaded with worry, but I didn't know why. _Why? I've seen soldiers, citizens die, gruesome deaths. Blood and cut limbs, wars, I've been through them all knowing how many centuries old I was. Soldiers by my side being shot down with arrows or sliced in half with blades. Yet I pressed on, and I survived, wishing I had died instead of them. I am an elf, almost immortal as long as I am not injured severely. It's sickening, how many people died instead of me._ I shook my head,_ Bad thoughts Rena, be calm._ Looking at Raven's face, I still couldn't help but worry even though he didn't seem to be injured in any single way. Compared to all the bloodshed I had seen of other people, I somehow thought it was worse that Raven was just unconscious. I just couldn't find my peace of mind. Eve looked up at me.

"Raven is fine, when he will wake up, I am not sure, but he is extremely fatigued and drained, physically, and seemingly mentally. I do not know why he is in this state, but some rest can easily fix it. We should camp here for now, as for Elsword and Aisha, we should look for them as well, but one person has to look after Raven, he cannot stay here on his own."

"I'll look after Raven," Chung offered.

"It is settled, Rena let us go."

I couldn't move. My legs didn't want to. I didn't want to. I felt strangely protective. I wanted to stay by Raven's side and protect him from any harm.

"..You guys go on ahead, I think I'll just stay here."

Eve hesitated, "If you insist, we will not be gone for long, do not worry, Come, Chung."

They disappeared into the darkness and I only heard the crunching of their footsteps long after they went. It was late at night. The Sun finally set and the clouds parted over the glowing moon. The sky turning from purple, to dark blue. Stars twinkled clearly through the haze and I gazed up at the sight. If only I could share it with Raven, _I hope he wakes up soon._ My ears twitched, the acute hearing was a part of my elven abilities, able to hear a pin drop from very far distances. My ears picked up every sound, the crickets chirping, and the insects humming their own unique tune. Fireflies flew near me, glowing gold ever so brightly. I felt the ground with my sensitive fingertips and closed my eyes, as if I was one with nature, and suddenly, my mind was cleared, and I felt a wave of calm replacing my angst. I sighed with contentment and curled up next to Raven, brushing his wild hair out of his face, patiently waiting for the return of the rest of the gang, and for Raven to wake up.

**Eve: Pardon me asking, but I am the main character, why was a good amount of the story in Rena's Point of View.**

**Rena" Yea, I wasn't expecting that either...**

**Raven: Apparently, I'm unconscious.**

**Chung: And we ran through a field of flowers with serious faces. o-o**

**Me:Because I can do that, :I Don't be selfish. Everyone gets to shine, but yea, you're the main character, and Raven? Would you rather stay unconscious? No? I didn't think so.**

**Me: Well, I hope you liked it! This one is slightly longer, as I had promised, and I updated quickly too. Later~:P**


	16. Chapter 16

(Aisha's POV)

I twirled my staff around and shot two extra flaming fireballs in his direction, before creating the last one in my hand and holding it there. Flames roared in my palms and I smiled wickedly, _This punk doesn't have a chance.~_ A sword met with my creations and whipped them aside, my fireballs vanishing into thin air. I fled to gain some distance, and he ran straight towards me, before my hands released the last and most powerful fireball, I skidded back. A Wave of flames flickered and roared, less tame than the rest, searing the rock below, and flattening the area. I'll finish this nice and quickly, and then we'll see who's the victor now~ Camilla said that it was a tie. I doubt it, I'm wayyy more superior than that baka.

I just waited for the fireball to burn him into a crisp and smirked triumphantly.

He shouted, "Mega Slash!" and swung his sword down, red energy swirling around.

The firewall spread apart through the center and disappeared before my very eyes. He brushed fake dust off of his shoulders,

"You thought I would be that easy to beat purple head? Well you got another thing coming for you. Act serious, dummy."

_Dummy?! What is he? five? I'm definitely NOT taking Elsword seriously, and will only use regular moves._ I teleported away, losing mp fast, but I didn't care, I could always regenerate it back.

"Stop running, coward!"

"I can do whatever I want! I'm NOT running, I'm being strategic, unlike you!"

I kept teleporting and using fireballs until he would give up, but he kept running towards me. I was getting tired of this, and flicked one last fireball at him, when he rolled out of the way, under it.

"What?!

" It seemed that he was invinsible for a moment, and he quickly got up, and started slashing at me. Through the middle of his combo's Elsword beat me with the blade on the flat side, causing bruises to form on my body.

"You're defense is low, and your strength physically, is well, lacking. I don't want to hurt you that bad."

He stopped slashing at me, and I glared angrily. _Who does he think he is?! I'm not weak, when I was younger, I was the strongest mage. That's it, I'm done playing around!_ I charged at him, and he seemed surprised,

"Binding Circle!"

A magic circle captured and immobilized him, giving me a chance to strike. I'll give him combo's! My staff hit him repeatedly like a rhythm, I counted each swing in my head, when he seemed about ready to fall down, I jumped up and casted a magic circle in midair and somersaulted away, landing perfectly on my feet. As he was about to touch the ground,

"Chain Fireball!"

Three intense fireballs hit him, the last one afflicting a major burn.

"Now that's the Aisha I know!" He grinned.

_ What? I backed away, his newfound friendliness and maturity caught me off guard._

"Let's finish this fight, and make it a great one."

I stared at him, before nodding slowly, and blushed.

"I agree."

We both raced forward, but I was low on mana ,leaving me helpless. Elsword began slashing at me with a faster pace, up, down, left, right, diagonal. My eyes couldn't seem to catch up to his movement. His eyes remained calm and focused as he slashed, it seemed that he was dancing as the movements got faster, Elsword began to glow a bright blue, and everything became a blur, I couldn't even tell if he was hitting me anymore.

"Aura of Vitality." He whispered.

Beads of sweat didn't appear on his forehead, and his facial expression showed serenity, before he finally brought the last five blows, Fatal Fury. I flipped back up, eager to prove myself and abilities._ My turn._ Having enough mana from all the blows I had taken, I summoned a wave of flames at my feet forward with one swift downward motion of my staff , it traveled quickly, swallowing up patched of grass and spread onto Elsword. He grimaced at the intensity of the heat, and I ran forward as he was pushed back and burned once more. Feeling confident, I swung and tried to mimic Elsword's brilliant movements with his blade, replaying them into my thoughts, and applying them to my swings.

It seemed to work, and I was dealing damage two times harder than normal, causing solid sounds when the wood came in contact with his body, and my attack speed had increased by a considerable amount, nearing the end of my combination, I brought a gust of wind to aid me pushing it up with my palm, and lifted Elsword into the air.

"Gust Storm!"

I twirled rapidly and the range of the heat storm increased, covering an enormous amount of space and bringing Elsword even higher into the air. When the skill ended, he landed on the hard ground with a loud thud. I panted and heaved, using my staff to support me, all this firepower was draining me, I had to finish this, fast. Elsword shakily got up, and seemed to look just as drained as I was. But he dragged himself,

"I'm not finished yet!"

The weight of his sword, and his tiredness resulted in him dragging his sword on the floor, before he brought it up,

"Unlimited Blade"

I acted quickly before he could even touch me and created a shield of blue mana, knowing that it would reduce the damage that I would take so that I would last just a little bit longer. He slashed ferociously, and the deadly combo was never-ending, but I could endure it because of the shield absorbing most of the hits. He ended with a Mega Slash, shattering my barrier. Seizing the opportunity, I casted a stream of lightning, pushing him away and causing numerous electrifying hits. This is it. We both entered Awakening Mode, hoping that the last skill would determine who would win. Every last bit of mana and energy went into this final skill, I only had one shot, so I had to make it count.

We were now a respectful distance away from each other, which might've given me an edge, but I couldn't be sure.

"Meteor Call!" "Triple Geyser!"

A huge meteor loomed before me and I felt ready to collapse, but I held it, my fingers shaking along with my staff. Steadying my aim, I used my last effort to launch the meteor, and the colossal force headed towards Elsword. It burned everything in its path and the blazing heat caused even myself to sweat as it blistered near my face. The heat roared louder and louder like a mythical monster and I was sure you could see it from a far distance, a blob of oranges and reds danced in my eyes, and the ribbons that secured my hair into buns had been released, and into the sky, flapping wildly, allowing my purple hair to fall down messily to my shoulders and my clothes flapping wildly in the wind. Elsword brought down his blade to the ground and cracked the Earth itself, as forceful as a major earthquake. Ripples of energy swirled around, knocking me off of my feet, and my legs couldn't bring themselves back up as to the fact that they felt like lead. The rock split and quickly traveled at the speed of light, and before I knew it, three columns of fire and earth erupted from the ground below and advanced.

Flames and ash swirled around the pillars, and I was blinded for a short moment from the intensity. All three hit me at the same time the meteor hit Elsword.

BOOM*

There was a loud bang and explosion as both skills met, and it felt as if we created a small nuclear war. Mushroom shaped smoke piled up into the atmosphere and clouded our view. The pillars of fire were extremely hot, and it seared my whole body, I couldn't endure it, I just couldn't. Large stones pelted my back like hail or bullets, and it was like a fire hurricane, picking up all kinds of debris and it was all centered to me. My knees sank and my head tilted down, the fire didn't burn my clothes or hair, but I prayed for the pain to end and for the pillars to get quenched by the wind. I brought my head up ever so slightly, to see Elsword toughing out the meteorite.

(Elsword's POV)

The meteor trapped me inside, and it hurt like hell. I was unable to talk, much less escape, so I just endured the excruciating pain. I knelt down and leaned on my sword, relying much of it to support my weight. I opened my mouth to shout, but nothing came out of my mouth, and my screams would just be drowned by the force anyway. Trying to calm my mind, I tried to think about happy thoughts. _My strong sister Elsa of fiery red braided hair, training me in Ruben, strict, and always telling my how to get better, but always with a kind heart and gentle voice. How we were always in the training grounds, and how her sweet voice would always tell me, _

_"Good Job. You're getting better Elsword," while ruffling my hair, even though I couldn't even take apart a single straw dummy, and she could take them all in one slash._

_ She was my idol, and I always looked up to her, even until now. Then, that other time, when she "convinced" Lowe for me to become one of the youngest members of the El search party, and Red Knights. I enjoyed every precious hour, minute, second, I spent with her. Little did I know that it would be my last._ I closed my eyes and a wave of calm did come over me, and the pain faded by a great amount. Memories flooded in like a waterfall, and even as the meteor expanded, I couldn't feel a single thing. The pain never came, and it didn't register.

Finally, I opened my eyes, and both of our skills had ended. The forest grew silent, it was a tie. I got up, seeing that I created a soot and ash angel on the ground, and saw Aisha curled up into a ball, her face had soot and grime, and for the first time, her hair wasn't tied. My legs didn't cooperate, and I quickly fell down. Then I dragged myself and reached her, before carrying her into my arms like I had in Shadow Forest. Aisha had fainted, and I wasn't going to leave her like this. In the distance, I saw silver and blond sprint to Aisha and I, maybe they were Eve and Chung, but I couldn't be sure, maybe I was hallucinating or silver haired one began shouting in my ear, and my head throbbed as if something was clamping down on it. The girl's voice was filled with worry and anger.

"Elsword, you baka! Look what you have done to the forest! Aisha has fainted and you are in critical condition, we must get you back at the camp at once!"

The girl slapped my face, but I couldn't even feel it, I was numb._ Yep, It's Eve._ Chung came at my side,

"Hang in there buddy! Here, let me carry Aisha for you."

"N-No!"Was all I could say.

I held her even tighter, and didn't want to let go. Aisha is my friend, and even though she can be annoying, she's still a friend, and she reminds me of Elsa... always worrying about me. Eve gave Chung a knowing look, and he nodded, carrying the both of us. I laid limp over his shoulder and brushed Aisha's hair out of her face, and let Chung do all the walking.

(Eve's POV, finally*)

"Chung, are you sure you can carry the both of them?" I asked in a concerned tone.

"Yeah, it's fine, really! The Destroyer weighs a lot more, I can handle it^^"

We ran silently through the forest, not saying a single word. I glanced at Elsword and Aisha, and their injuries were very serious, third degree burns covered their bodies. What were they trying to do? Kill each other? I was relieved however, the smoke coming from the clearing had indicated Elsword and Aisha's location. If we had not found them sooner... I did not even want to finish the thought. We were nearing the camp, and Rena could tend to their minor injuries, rest could cure their fatigue as well. _Do be all right, Elsword and Aisha, I expect a full recovery from the both of you._

(Rena's POV)

An hour had passed, but it had seemed like ten hours. My emerald-green eyes darted back and forth, searching the area for any suspicions. Finding nothing but the small rustling of a rabbit in a nearby bush, I closed my eyes once more, before snapping them back open. Stay awake...Elves don't even need that much sleep. A minimum of four hours and I'll be fine, but now's not the time to rest. I took a quick glance at Raven. At this rate, if I fall asleep in the middle of the night, both Raven and I will be vulnerable to any ambushes. I stood up from my crouch ever so silently, and paced back and forth, not a sound could be heard of my feet stepping on the fertile soil.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, but it returned just as quickly as it left, like determined mosquitoes out to drain blood. I even blew wind in my eyes, using small amounts of my power to create a tiny concentrated breeze, but that just irritated my pupils even further. Despite all of this, my eyelids still heaved, and I blinked several times, my eyelashes fluttering. No. I slapped my face several times, but even that didn't work. I walked up to Raven, my last resort, took his Nasod Arm, and whipped it across my face.

SLAP*

The metal came in contact with my delicate skin, and pain registered towards my sore cheek. It hurt a lot more than I thought it would, and a red mark slowly began to appear, spreading across my face. The "claws" on his arm had also scratched me lightly, making my left cheek sting. I gingerly rubbed the sore area. At least I'm awake now, looking around for any healing herbs, I found none, and sat down. It's just a scratch, You'll survive, I convinced myself. I then noticed that Raven was beginning to heat up, and I blew a cool gentle breeze in his direction, cooling him off a little, when I heard loud rustling in the tall grass.

My hand lowered to my leg, and unsheathed Erendil silently. The ruby, gold, and silver on my dagger shined brilliantly in the darkness as I twirled it around casually, before gripping it tightly and concealing it within the black ribbons of my hair. I waited intently for friend or foe, ready for either one to trespass. The noise grew even louder, and I spread my feet apart, assuming a fighting stance. Seems that whoever it is isn't very stealthy... But I took it seriously anyways. I learned never to underestimate anything from the Elders in my village. The rustling abruptly stopped, and tension built up, before something shot out of the grass.

_What the h.e. double toothpicks?!_

**Me: X-X Finally! I'm done, and sorry if there isn't that much Eve, although she's the main character. I hope you like all the action and fighting scenes though, and this is the longest chapter I've made so far! Woot! Also, I was planning on adding more Aisha to the story.^^ Authors Note: Why Rena didn't curse is because Elves can't, it's considered unholy:P (Just made that up.) In addition, I won't be updating in awhile because I will be away for Spring Break, but I will update as soon as I come back~. Please R&R and F&F if you enjoyed this chapter! Have fun during Spring Break, Bye~**


	17. Chapter 17

(Rena's POV)

_I thought that I would be ready for anything, but, what the hell?!_ Out popped the familiar heads of silver, ,blond, red, and purple.

"Elsword, you ingrate, pick yourself up! We all fell along with you, unhand me at once!"

The Elgang were sloppily piled up in a massive heap, with poor Eve being at the bottom, you could just see the "X"s on her eyes. I sweatdropped and disentangled them from each other, it was tedious work, they were linked together like a pile of paperclips. _Gosh, how could this have happened?_ I then heard a low moan from Aisha, her eyes were closed and large gashes, red and purple bruises, and major burns scattered all over her body. A sickening warm liquid dripped all over me as I examined Aisha, I looked down to see a pool of scarlet slowly expanding on the ground, but it wasn't my blood, it was all Aisha's. I gasped in horror, my hand over my mouth, and took two steps back.

"What happened?!"

"Elsword and Aisha had been fighting intensely in the forest, it all got out of hand, quite obviously, leaving Elsword in critical condition, and Aisha unconscious. I advise that you tend to their injuries straight away as to the fact that you are the only one capable and with knowledge on healing."

My grip on Aisha tightened and I heaved her into the willow tree, careful not to let her touch the ground and let her wounds get afflicted with dirt and bacteria. _An infection would've just made her health even worse._

(Eve's POV)

Rena proceeded to fetch Elsword and laid him beside Aisha, and they both slept soundly as soon as they touched the floor. I sighed with relief as Rena rushed about to gather the necessary plants with healing properties. Knowing that Rena would take care of the situation, I sighed, a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders, and sat on a nearby log.

"Be back in a few."

She darted out of the clearing, leaving us to wait. All of this waiting and patience made me anxious as the time went by. Thoughts and concerns clouded my thoughts, _Are they going to be fine? When is Rena coming back? What about Raven?_ All I had to do was find faith and a piece of mind, but it was harder than expected. I rubbed my temples, _I need something to keep me occupied for the time being, all of this is giving me a headache._ I glanced at Chung, and he seemed to be in the same state, his Pikachu ears flat down, and his eyes glued to the forest floor.

"Chung-" I tried to start a conversation, and he seemed to snap out of his unusual trance.

"It is going to be alright. Rena is coming back to cure them, Raven will wake up soon, we're fine, as long as we have each other, nothing will shake us apart. So do not worry. I like it better when you smile, put on a brave face and smile for me, and for the well-being of everyone."

His expression started to shift, and soon he began sniffling, then it blew into full-out sobs, puddles of tears accumulated on the floor in the process. My eyes twitched _What have you done now? Now you have made Chung cry! I really cannot deal with child-like individuals, can I?_

"Th-that was s-so beautiful and well-said!"

He turned to me and his puppy-dog eyes were filled with joyous tears. I twitched and stepped back in horror I did not know he could be so sensitive and dramatic.

"Er, yes, my words of wisdom are quite moving and inspirational, there, there...

I trailed off awkwardly, unable to say anything more. _S-so kawaii, it is malfunctioning my system..._ Chung rubbed the tears away from his eyes

"Th-Thanks... I really needed that, Eve. Everyone seems down, and you're cheering us all up. You're always there for all of us, and I'm glad for that."

He brushed his lips against my cheek, then gave me one of his signature happy-go-lucky smiles and I blushed, before setting my head on his lap, our conflicts dissipating. The air grew chillier, and I snuggled up closer, unable to keep the warmth, I raised a finger to a heap of firewood, and shot a laser at it. The wood ignited instantly and soon flickered with fire. The warmth spread to my body and the clearing had been lit up, the darkness and mosquitoes retreating as smoke piled up into the atmosphere. A flash of green arrived with peculiar plants that I could not identify. Rena outstretched her palm to show me what she had collected.

"This forest is filled with wildlife, not to mention a variety of helpful plants. It's stunning and amazing... With these, I can heal them both, no problem! So don't worry."

Rena named all the plants as she walked as if reciting a list of items needed from the market, before kneeling down beside Elsword and Aisha.

(Rena's POV)

I twisted open the cap on my canteen and used the last of my waterskin to wash their the external wounds first. _Now that their clean and sterilized, let's start with...Spicebush._ My eyes searched around for a stone to crush up the leaves and berries, and I found a large smooth stone. _Perfect._ I grounded the berries up, converting it into an oil, and applied the oil on Elsword and Aisha's nasty bruises. Then, I used the common cattail I found growing in the nearby lake, and poulticed the burns, trying not to press too hard. Finally, I took a bit of poultice from the crushed leaves of Jewelweed and Geranium, on the cuts and sprains. And yep, Catnip, to stop the excessive bleeding. I brushed my hands together, admiring my handiwork, before washing my hands of the flowers and leaves. That should do it. They'll be good enough to get up and going by morning until we reach Bethma. There, we can give them proper treatment. Able to relax at last, I wedged my way through the branches and next to Raven.

(Eve's POV)

I was at ease, but still restless, irritating me considerably. I sat up, searching for something to do. Chung was still wide awake, taking the night-watch as everyone else was asleep. Only the sound of the flickering fire and the musical crickets could be heard in the night. The silence was peaceful to me, but at the same time disturbing.

"Chung," I started once more,

"Hm?"

"I am feeling what humans call "Boredom,"

"Well, we still have time to kill and the both of us are wide awake so, can you help me with my gun if we have the materials?"

"Ah, that topic had slipped my mind, we might as well get started."

I spread the necessary materials on the wooden table in front of us, and started assembling the pieces with speed and accuracy, rotating each piece so that it may fit, like a puzzle. Chung handed me the materials and commented and suggested things to upgrade his weapon, and I added them on. Lastly, I put on the clip/magazine, and it was finally finished after those hours of work. "I suggest that you test your new weapon out and see if it comes to your liking." Chung took the gun carefully in his hands.

(Chung's POV)

"The exterior is prefect, let's see how it works though."

I whipped around, steadying my aim, and fired off a single bullet, directly hitting the red paint on a tree trunk far away. Bang!* An ear-splitting sound was heard, and birds nearby flew up into the sky, alarmed by it. The force caused chunks of the splintered wood to fall off and the fragments fell on the dirt.

"Impressive."We both commented at once.

I rotated my new weapon and it shined a bright silver. _A Silver Shooter. That's what I'll call it._

"Thanks, Eve, the Silver Shooter is awesome, and even better knowing that we worked together to make it."

"You are very welcome, Chung, and Silver Shooter is quite the fitting name for that gun, however, a single shot does not decide whether or not that is the completely ideal gun for you. We must ensure it is the best for combat, with the highest possible performance, test it out a bit longer-"

"You're right', I admitted.

"By engaging in combat with me."

_ WHAT?!_

"WHAT?"

"Do not be surprised or alarmed, it is perfectly fine. It will be a spar, and only a spar, (unlike what Elsword and Aisha did)" I heard her mutter.

"B-but, I don't want to hurt you! Even if it's a spar, these, I explained, pointing, are bullets, could actually shoot you in combat!"

"Oh, no really? I had not been educated on that! Thank you for informing me!

_Wow, this is what Nasod sarcasm is? Ouch... _

She continued, I know that. I can take care of myself, and I demand that we spar. It is only for our safety in the future. Please?"

Her eyes were filled with determination, and a bit of anger. Not at me I'm guessing, but at my reply. I sighed and rubbed my spiky hair in defeat,

"Fine, but I care about your safety, please, be careful."

Eve nodded in confirmation, before we headed away from the clearing, away from the rest of the Elgang who were sleeping silently, careful not to wake them up.

"This area seems suitable."

I glanced around to see dirt all around, no grass, and the space was wide. _Guess I'll give it a shot and spar with Eve. (bad pun)_

"BEGIN."

Eve raced towards me with no warning, and slammed Moby into my face. _OW OH MY GOD!_

"Eve! What the heck!"

"We are now commencing in combat mode. I will not go easy on you, and you will not go easy on me."

I sighed for the second time today and raised my Destroyer, blocking what could have been a direct hit to the face by Remy. Eve got near my face, aiming for my cheek, her eyes still expressionless. I blocked it successfully and her hand hit metal. She withdrew her hand and it was bright red, her expression shifted.

"Oh no! Eve, I'm so sorry, I didnt-"

"No, it's fine, she said gritting her teeth. We must continue, in a fight, there is no holding back. I will heal myself after."

We continued exchanging blows and receiving them, soon we had many bruises all over our bodies, but I didn't use the gun yet.

"Enough, I will raise the damage output."

I charged after her, and she glided away like a brilliant dancer, before stopping _What?_ "Photon Blink." I couldn't block the electricity and plasma as it shocked me, my armor defenseless.

"Particle Ray!"

Eve emitted a beam of particles straight towards me while I was still stunned and it laid a direct hit. But, I could tell that this was one of her less damaging skills, afflicting little damage. That also meant that she had many other tricks up her sleeve. I finally managed to hit Eve after her skill, swinging repeatedly with the Destroyer, nearing the end of my combo, "Rumble Shot!" I fired off a pulsating cannon as it traveled onto Eve, hitting her seven times, and ending my combo. Eve quickly retaliated and flipped back up, before piercing me with several Nasod Spears and leaving a trail of electronic pulses. Caught in the electrons, The combo was relentless.

"Giga Stream!"

Eve drew a large force-field and this beam was enormous, bigger than the last, blasting me backwards. _More like kamehameha..._ I returned the favor and swung my Destroyer up to her and began again. Nearing the end of the clearing,

"Dual Buster!"

I somersaulted in the air, firing off two rounds from my gun, and ended at the back of Eve, and slammed her again and again on her back with my cannon, catching her by surprise, then boosted myself up with my Destroyer and fired rapidly as I neared the floor, propelling me upwards by a touching the ground,

"Check these guns out!"

"That does not sound right Chung," Eve commented, catching me off guard.

I blushed madly, "That's not what I meant! I swear!"

"Mhm."

_Idiot! Now she thinks you're a stupid perv!_ I told myself. My next shot was inaccurate and it missed her completely and she seized the opportunity,

"Sweep Rolling." Eve whispered.

A giant electric triangle generated from her fingertips, locking me inside as I touched the floor. There, I was trapped and tumbled around, flailing my arms all over the place as if this was an electric washing machine. There was no escaping her electrifying skills and she finally ended it.

"Photon Flare."

The sky lit up as a sphere of energy enveloped her. The light was so intense I was blinded for a short time, and I shut my eyes, dots of colors dancing around in my head. I heard crackling electricity nearing me, and a burst of electricity shocked me and I was thrown onto the floor, unable to get up. Probably one of those _Mega Electron Balls._

"Checkmate." She said with amusement.

Eve lifted me up, "Good game," we both said.

"If this was a real battle, I would have used some of my new buffs."

"And I would've used my gun more often."

"Nevertheless, it was a good spar, yet, there is one slight fault to your weapon, when you run out of bullets in the middle of battle, it delays you as much as the destroyer does."

"Well, it is a gun," I countered.

"Yes, but perhaps we can amplify it even further... How about make the gun enchanted, in addition of firing off metal bullets, concentrate your energy and conjure bullets for the price of mana if you run out of ammunition."

"That's, that's a great idea! But how we should do it, I have no idea."

Eve outstretched her hand, and I gave her the gun, she put something into it.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing, really, just transferring El-Energy so that it may work better. Now hold the gun, and channel mana in the shape of bullets into the gun."

I took my Silver Shooter back and concentrated. Instinctively, I raised my gun and shot at the tree target a second time. BANG!* The sound was even louder and still ringing in my ears. The whole ring that served as a target blasted off as soon as the blue bullet came in contact.

"Much better, now that your weapon is the best it can be, we must return to camp and rest up so that tomorrow, we will have energy for the journey to Bethma."

I nodded and we exited the clearing and into the camp. "What a day, we accomplished so much, I'm exhausted." Stretching my arms out I hugged Eve tight, in return, she blushed and nestled her head into my chest, her breathing became heavy and even and soon, she fell asleep. My eyes began to heave too, but last thoughts entered my mind._ When will Raven wake up? How are Elsword and Aisha going to be tomorrow? When are we-_ that was my last and unfinished thought before I drifted into a deep sleep.

**Me: Done! I came back from my vacation, and like I said, I updated as soon as I could with another long chapter:D. I hope you enjoyed this story, and please review giving me suggestions on the storyline, how to improve, and if I should continue:PJewel (my OC) pops out of nowhere,**

**Jewel: ._.Please R&R and F&F~ and Rose will give you some mochi ice cream!**

**Me: o-o Ok! That's enough Jewel^^; _First she's unemotional, and now she's all joyful. Did I make my OC bipolar?_**

**Jewel: I can read your mind.**

**Me: Oh.-. I should run now. Bye~ Hurries away before Rose guts me like a fish***


	18. Chapter 18

(Chung's POV)

I yawned and rubbed my eyes sleepily, then glanced at my sleeping beauty, Eve. Her eyes were closed and she was sound asleep, a wave of calm emitted from her aura. I brushed the stray locks from her ivory, porcelain face before observing the area around me to take watch while everyone was asleep, my "ears" twitching at every sound in the forest. But what I didn't notice was what WASN'T happening. I turned around and Elsword and Aisha were...gone. No trace of them had been left. Not even a single footprint could be evident in the soil, and it worried me greatly.

_Who knows what could happen now? They could've gotten injured while we were all asleep. That fight from yesterday was... intense. All the major bruises and scars scattered all over their body, it makes me feel light-headed just thinking about it... But, it's going to be alright,_ I thought, my emotions taking a strange turn. Call me careless and the crappiest "friend" ever. I just have this feeling, since yesterday after their battle.

Elsword seems more, protective towards Aisha. Caring for her, and holding onto her, never losing sight, or loosening his grip. That was evident when I offered to carry Aisha back to the camp. Elsword fiercely declined and carried her, even though his condition was just as bad. Aisha, she seems less childish around him now, no more fights. She doesn't seem to get angry at him quite as easily, and she seems more down-to-Earth and humble around him, the complete opposite of what I'd seen so far. She listens to his bizarre statements when no one else does. The happiness between the two was beyond my comprehension. I know that either one of them would take a bullet for another in a heart-beat, together, they seemed unbreakable. I laid back down next to Eve and closed my eyes. _They'll be fine. I just know it._

(Aisha's POV)

"So, this is where we should start training?"

"Yeah, and look, people were already here before us." Elsword pointed at several holes in a nearby tree trunk which were probably from a gun shot.

"Well, we already fought our hardest and it was a draw, so, tell me what I need to improve on."

"I dunno, you might get offended at the large list of weaknesses I throw at you." He said in a teasing tone.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever, I can take it."

"Well, first of all, you should really work on that flat chest of yo-"

I whacked him mercilessly with my staff at that comment. Although I didn't hate him anymore, saying something negative about my chest was unforgivable. He deserved and obviously earned the beating.

"Anything else, that is combat related and has NOTHING to do with my appearance?" I replied trying to remain calm.

"I was going to say something related to your clothes next but..."

I glared and began to walk away, weaving through the thick underbrush, exasperated. I was nearing the camp, this is just a waste of time. Elsword raced after me in somewhat of a panic.

He lightly grabbed my wrist, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't always be joking, right? Life isn't a joke, I'll be serious this time, and.. I actually think you're really pretty."

My face flushed a bright crimson as I looked down at my shoes, "R-really?" I brushed my hair behind my ears.

"Really." He said in conformation, smiling genuinely, "Now let's go, I'll be serious. I promise."

Warmth flooded into my body. He's so warm and friendly... Shaking that thought out of my mind and onto our original goal, I went back into the clearing, Elsword following closely behind.

"You need to work on your melee/ physical skills and defense."

"I'm a mage. You need to work on magic." I replied in plain defense.

"I'm a knight."

"...We can try. Here, I'll teach you what I'm best at, fireballs."

I grasped his palm gently and steadied them in front of him. "Concentrate all your power into heat in one single area on your palm."

Elsword nodded and locked his eyes with his hands. After several minutes, his eyebrows knit together in determination and drops of sweat rolled down his forehead. He stared at his hands so intensely, it was as if he was planning to sear a hole through it, yet not a single weak flicker or flame could be seen. He broke away from his concentrated stare, "I can't do it..." He mumbled. I sighed,_ They give up so easily..._

"Elsword, look at me. Learning magic from the start wasn't easy for me either. I was one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful mages when I was twelve. Then, I just, lost all my powers from a ring, and was bumped back from square one. Did that stop me? No. I'm traveling with you guys in hopes of recovering my powers, even more determined than ever. You have that same determination. Rena even said that we're similar, with the same effort, so I know you can do it. I can see the sweat and hard work poured into your sword training, all you have to do is apply it to magic by thinking back to times when you have succeeded."

He blinked twice as if he couldn't process what I was rambling about.

"Wow, that was really smart... Thanks Aisha!"

He went back to his previous stance and tried once more. Again, and again. _You're welcome. I hope you prevail._ Hours passed by, but I stayed patient, giving him tips from time to time, encouraging him constantly. In return, he continued and improved each time and I was excited by his progress. Finally, I get to be the mentor for once, being a teacher is fun.

"Okay. I think I got it this time, just watch."

We waited, two minutes passed by, then five, and the both of us hadn't moved. I sat still eager for the results and if it paid off. My eyes widened when the air started getting warmer, gradually, a weak red fire flickered, hovering over his palm for roughly a minute, before vanishing. He frowned with disappointment, seemingly upset that he couldn't keep the fire going for a longer time.

"Look! You did it, Elsword! If you keep practicing at this rate, you'll be a pro in no time! Don't be discouraged, your progress was great."

"...You, think so?"

"I know so."

A grin crept up onto his face "Now it's my turn to teach you." I had forgotten.

I looked up with a hint of enthusiasm "What should I do first?"

"Okay, so let's just spar a bit. Don't use any magic, and let's try not to kill each other this time."

I gulped before nodding slowly and reaching for my staff, before readying myself into combat position.

"Ready, Go!"

Elsword rushed at me with extreme speed as I scrambled backwards, trying to gain some distance in a safer area. He rushed at me again and again relentlessly, like a raging bull, and all I could do was dodge it.

"Your evasive skills are already over the top, believe me, you're a pro at that, but if you want to learn, you have to try."

I shakily nodded and came after him and slashed down sloppily, trying to parry his strike, but he overpowered me easily and threw me aside like a rag-doll before lifting me back up.

"There are three basic things in becoming better with a sword, knowing how to dodge, which you have already mastered, block, parry, and strike. Here, I'll show you an example of each. Get ready to block!"

Elsword ran straight at me and swung, I knew he was going easy on me. Raising my staff just in time, I blocked successfully, however with my wrists shaking violently, before he withdrew quickly.

"That was good, but to brace yourself better, bend your knees and try not to keep them so close together to make you more stable and secure. Hold your ground at impact and try to bend, then extend your arms if you can overpower the enemy, that will knock them off their feet or at least leave them in a daze, that is when you can start hitting. Parrying is basically the same, but different timing. Let's try this again."

_Wow, he is really good at explaining,_ I thought with newfound adoration, before readying once more. For the second time, he came after me, and I blocked once more, with increased confidence, but not enough to get cocky. I easily overpowered him this time as I drove the staff forward and stepped in to gain more leverage, before solidly hitting him and starting an extended combo. As he endured the hits, he kept talking and giving me tips.

"You're doing great Aisha."

"Thanks, you did too."

Hours had flown by as we alternated between magic and physical practice, both of us steadily progressing. Elsword could now summon multiple decent sized fireballs and I could take a bit more hits and dish some out as well. _The others must be awake by now._

"Elsword! Aisha!" Familiar voices could be heard.

"Guess, we're done with today's morning practice, let's get to the others and head out to Bethma. You are dismissed!" Elsword joked humorously.

I laughed, rolling my eyes and jogging out to camp with Elsword following right along. We were greeted by something not so pleasant.

(Eve's POV)

"Elsword, Aisha! Please do not tell me that you had gone out and tried to kill each other again!" Rena and I stated in exasperation. Now wide awake and angry, all I could think of was, Why did Chung let them go?! The ignorance has reached a new level, the nerve! We had been searching for them for half an hour... I gave the three of them royal slaps of worry for good measure.

"No, we didn't kill each other, we were just honing our skills, and it was a great success."

"Whatever the situation! I do not care. You know what? We do not have time for this, we must get going before Rena starts acting unholy."

I started stuffing equipment in my bag furiously, and everyone else started to follow my example while Rena was drawing a route to Bethma, ignoring the fact that I had basically stated that when she gets angry, she acts like a demon. Elsword and Aisha were chatting with each other casually, seemingly with eyes for each other rather than on what they should pack. Chung just watched me with curiosity, and soon, we were all all ready to go and determined to bring forth peace and salvation to Bethma. Rena and I became the leaders for the time being.

"Rena, carry Raven. If you get tired, let Chung carry him the rest of the way. I shall scan the perimeter while you two, Elsword and Aisha, I raised my voice while glaring, will be closely observing so that you may not get out of my sight any longer. Chung, stay close by me, just because. Let us head out. If we hurry, we may arrive by evening." At my strict orders, we all headed out, the thought still lingering. _Raven, wake up._

**Raven: When the hell will I wake up?! I've been unconscious for chapters.**

**Eve: Why am I so bossy in this chapter?**

**Me: Shut up, you will, I promise. :I As for you Eve, you can't be the nicest and best of them all, even though you are still the main character and my favorite besides Chung. You have to have SOME negative side.**

**Chung: :3 Eve: .-. Pokerface***

**Raven: FFFFF-**

**Me: Also readers, sorry for the longer than usual wait to update I was just so excited for Can't Change My Fate that it had slipped my mind. But don't worry if you enjoy this story, I will finish it.^^ Please R&R and F&F. God bless you all~.**


	19. Chapter 19

(Eve's POV)

"Pick up the pace, we cannot afford to lag behind." I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the road ahead.

Yet Aisha and Elsword lagged behind, chatting to each other leisurely, while Chung kept trying to bother me. I watched as Rena heaved Raven in her arms and stroked his hair gingerly, whispering comforting words although they couldn't reach his ears. I am genuinely concerned that Raven still hasn't woke up yet...

(Raven's POV)

I grunted and sat down sighing, and let a deep growl escape from my throat. _When the hell am I going to get out of here?! How long have I been trapped in here, the others... how are they doing? No. I should think about that later, right now, I need to find a way to avoid that, thing._ I continued to run for what felt like ten miles, feeling as if it had lost interest and gave up its pursuit, but the other half of me knew better._ No such luck, what does it want from me?_ A scraping noise could be heard as I tensed up. _Not again..._ Growing exhausted from this chase, I turned around to face the thing. I was trying to flee as long as I could, but I guess even that isn't enough, I turned around to face a part of myself. I could hear my heart beat as the scratching noise grew louder as I held my breath, no longer feeling as if I should run. It slowly dragged itself out, and I kept my cold stare at the object, flexing my Nasod Arm.. Screeechh*... _Then, It came out, midnight black similar to charcoal, spikes jutting out, robotic bolts and veins displaying itself all over, my Nasod Arm. How I knew it was mine despite the fact that it was entirely different? What other Nasod Arm is there? Nah, just joking. I just had a feeling, it was after me and whispering things into my ears, face me Raven...face yourself... It chased me even here, in the dark abyss of my thoughts and mind. Now it had caught me red-handed, I was the criminal, and this was the jail, perhaps even court. All of this judgement talk gave me chills down my spine, and beads of sweat I made an effort to hide._ Feeling bold, I inhaled some air and answered quietly.

"What do you want from me? Suffering? Torment? The anger that fed my desire to kill, or control over me, that's what I'd like to know. If you won't answer me, I have no time for you, for this anyways, I need to escape from here. Tell me now."

... no Raven, not at all... Just join me...and you won't have to feel the pain any longer... Wouldn't that be nice Raven, to get away from all the agony? Your life was destined to be grim, Raven. But you have me now, you're not alone. I'm a part of you and you can't deny that. I will make sure we have a better future. We can just kill Rena, Eve, Aisha, Elsword, and Chung so that all we'll have is each other, like the old times. Just let me take over and you won't have to feel a single. thing...

No... suffering? Was this thing serious? After all it's done to me? Maybe, I have no choice. Is that what it is? Is that the only option to get out of this nightmare?! Blanking out when I'm filled with rage. Then, I turn into something else, what else is there to do? There's something wrong with me... I can't believe this crap! This is just a dream, an illusion, now get me the hell outta here!

You don't need to believe... But I am always there, as you are my host. I'm the physical reminder... and I will kill them, I don't care what the costs are. No matter what.

NO! I won't allow you to lay a hand on the people I care about. Not again, not ever! I'd rather kill myself along with you, that way, you can't touch them.

I'd like to see you try. I know, inside you cry. You can't admit it, but you're scared that you might go out of control, bit by bit. You have fear for what you've done in the past. You save those painful memories, worst for last. Isn't it right that you can't fight? Why not just get it over with? Then It'll feel as if their deaths were just a myth. And what happened to you, to make ou always feel so blue? You were onboard with the plan before, weren't you okay with the gore. Have friends made you weak? Knowing that your situation was bleak? What happened to the murderous mercenary, what happened to that freak.

I ignored the fact that my arm had creepily rhymed. "No, you're wrong. All the people I had met so far appreciated me for who I am. Not afraid because I had some freak arm with good combat skills. Seris. Seris wouldn't want this, I wouldn't want this. Only you, and I don't give a shit about what you want. Besides, the one who's the freak is you, you were the one who controlled me the entire time, not myself. I never wanted to join the Rebellion and destroy Velder, the town I was destined to protect. My new purpose is to redeem myself and protect the ones I love. Then, that scenario won't ever repeat itself."

"Fine then, how are you going to do that if you don't even have control over me? Open your eyes Raven. Join me..."

"The answer for the final time is no. I won't join you. I'm doing this for myself and others, but not for you. I won't give you the satisfaction any longer. I'm not afraid of my past like you claim I am. It has just made me stronger, everything has. Even the anger. Now that I have finally come to see your true form face to face, I will have control over you, and I shall succeed. But open my eyes? Sure Arm, I'll do just that. Oh, and one last thing? Don't waste my time..."

Warm memories flooded into me like a waterfall as I slowly closed my eyes in relief and serenity._ Seris, my friends, and comrades all hanging around Velder everyday, just enjoying each others presence. Whenever she would smile at me, say "hello" and her reassuring words, "it's going to be alright." When she had taken her last breaths, but her face filled with calm and expectant. When I met the over-energetic, but determined Elsword, Big-mouthed but cheery Aisha, Calm but gentle Eve, and clumsy but polite Chung. Rena, who I can't seem to find anything overly negative about, after all, I love her. Not because she looks like Seris, but because she had those kind, stern, but motherly qualities that I always admired about her. I realize, that I'm not angry anymore. I'm...glad._ Then, I open my eyes.

(Eve's POV)

"R...Rav...Raven...Raven! RAVEN!"

I heard Rena's voice parallel to me, and to my surprise, Raven started to struggle in her arms, but his eyes still tightly shut, perhaps trying to pry his eyes open. I stopped as curiosity got the better of me at his current condition and the rest of the gang gathered around him, eyes filled with concern.

"Hmmm...yes? How may I help you...? Raven replied, still groggy after finally snapping out of his disturbing trance.

My god, his behavior is acting like Elswords... I shuddered, completely oblivious to the current situation.

"RAVEN!" We all exclaimed at once." We missed you so much ;-;

"Uh, It's only been one day guys, I'm fine..."

"What happened?"

Raven glanced away as if he didn't want to share what had happened to him over the course of being unconscious. "It's all over now, now let's go to Bethma."

Rena gasped once more and directed her hands to Raven's Nasod Arm. _What happened to it? The exterior was no longer silver with rustic wires jutting out and sloppily connecting them. It was a midnight black with screws and bolts intact. I brushed my sensitive fingertips on the upgraded machinery. How had we not noticed something like this before? At such a short notice... Perhaps he has brought it to another level of power, at the price of sanity and control such as Code Exotic. He seems more in-control now, so I doubt that anything unfortunate will happen at the moment._

"We should get a move on."

The rest of us were worried over Raven's new arm design, but we decided not to dwell on that. Instead on Raven waking up from his unusual trance.

Over the course of roughly an hour we were nearing Bethma. Patches of wilting and rough yellow grass popped up here and there, although there was not sand as I expected a desert to be. The dirt was sucked of moisture leaving a hard, unpleasant ground for growing even the hardiest of plants and crops. Lizards scampered about, but we were careful not to harm them, as to the fact that the Lizardmen would not be very pleased, and avoiding conflict with them would be the wisest choice. We are here to stop conflict, not deepen it and enrage the races even further. Cacti seemed to smile back at us disturbingly as the silence in the barren desert became awkward at the sound of only our footsteps and the vultures above. An arid desert region quite the opposite of Elder greeted us.

"Welcome to Bethma" I said as I read an old wooden sign.

We were wandering about the rather large town in search of someone to ask about the Chief, or Sheriff as they call it around here, when a huge looming figure could be felt behind us.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Chacha Buch, an alchemist. Buch."

Intimidated by the giant talking lizard, I lost composure at its large tribal feathers of all different colors, rings, an olive coloured cloak, and pendants, before regaining it and introducing us as well.

"Our goal is to talk to the Sheriff around these parts. You see, we are not familiar to this territory, but we wish to help and cooperate as much as we can. Chief Hoffman had sent us since there is supposedly an issue here."

"How nice of you youngsters. But, Stella is coming right now. Buch."

"More foreign travelers? You've gotta be kidding me. Sorry, I'm being rude, I guess. I'm Stella, head of security. Don't forget it."

I shook hands with a woman seemingly the age of mid-thirties. She had slightly wavy chocolate-brown hair layered with front bangs, relatively normal colored skin, not ivory such as mine and Chung's, but not exactly Raven's skin tone. A white top that showed off her stomach, brown and gold leather jacket, a long black skirt, grey belts that fit loosely around her waist, some sort of gold necklace, and her badge of authority in the shape of a Sun. Stella seemed strict and harsh, but I did not feel any harsh or cold readings from her, so she must be alright. Stella's eyebrows stayed fixed down with her slight pouting frown. Her eyes narrowed as if she wanted to cut to the chase.

"What are you all doing here, if you're some kind of merchants, we already have that idiotic Richian and Chacha Buch. The job is already fulfilled."

"No, sheriff, we have heard of some sort of distress call from here and we will serve as protection from Lizardmen and such. What do you wish for us to do?"

"Oh, good. I could use a doughnut break. Tomorrow, go to the Dragon Nest, then Richie Mine. Don't die, I might still need you guys for a few errands. The dungeons are out on Bethma Mountain. Bye."

Shocked by her straight-forward and careless behavior and tone, we scurried away and off to a local inn to rest up for tomorrow's dungeoning and everyone else left the inn to fetch some things while Chung and I stayed behind.

(Aisha's POV)

I returned to the alchemist hoping that Chacha Buch would be able to tell me something. Cautious as to if anyone was following me, especially Elsword, I looked behind my back several times. When I realized I was alone, I ran off and caught up to the alchemy house.

"Um, heyy Chacha Buch. On a totally unrelated topic, just saying, do you have any books on Dark Magic and Magicians in that nice library of yours."

"Of course child, Buch."

"Thanks!~" _He isn't going to question me although I made it so obvious on what risks I was taking?! Strange man, I mean lizard. _

I turned the doorknob to his store/house and entered inside. I walked pass a row of multicolored potions and elixirs, trying to keep my mind focused and not on what seemed like a mix of a regular potion house and a wacky fun house. Walking through several hallways, I finally stumbled upon a door labeled "Library." I swung open the door and the whole room seemed to expand. Rows and rows of books were displayed everywhere, some more recent, while others were filled with cobwebs and probably creepy-crawlies. A section of the library was neat and tidy, the books all straightened, in order, and following the Dewey Decimal System whereas others were filled with strange symbols and all kinds of dust and mold._ I might have a better chance if I start in the messy, old pile. Ew._ It was a beautiful sea of books of many colors and sizes, and I was determined to read a few. _There MUST be books on dark magic here... this place is huge. Better get started early, this might take a while..._

__**Me: Okay Raven, now you're no longer unconscious. Happy?**

**Raven: ... Yes, very.**

**Me: Well, I hope you like this chapter and sorry if there were a few mistakes and such. Please give me suggestions or anything by reviewing and thank you guys so, so much for all the favorites and follows. :D As always, I'll try to update quickly, one week being the latest. Soda, out~**


	20. Chapter 20

(Aisha's POV)

Scrambling amongst the pile of ancient, dusty books, I checked for anything sinister in appearance, flipping over books, reading the blurbs and titles, everything. _Imagine that the dark magician books are up on a shelf, not in this musty pile, Aisha..._ I swatted the negative though away from my brain and continued my ongoing search. Through the middle of the pile, I saw an increasing amount of magic and spell related books,_ Looks like this pile was somewhat organized at a point in time. _Fireballs, lightning bolts, ice... I've learned most of this stuff already, and perhaps even more when I was twelve.

Soon, my pace quickened as I tossed the books behind my shoulder, not bothering to place it nicely, neat and organized or see where it lands. Several aged books clattered to the floor, and slightly tore open what binded it, the pages old and yellowing, cracks and tears became evident in each one as they stretched. _C'mon...c'mon... I don't have all day! The others could wake up any moment now and come looking for me, then things will get complicated when I try to explain. I'd rather keep this a secret._ Taking armloads of books every time, I hurled them wildly in the air and loose pieces of paper fluttered down as if it was rain. Dust accumulated on my palms and I sneezed several times, my hair a mess, and my clothing like a swiffer duster. My eyes watered, and I believe it had passed two hours._ Ugh...I'm done._ A part of me felt.

_The other part was like, Aisha! You need to get stronger what about your friends! Wow I belong in a mental hospital. _I groaned extremely torn, before continuing my search. Finally nearing the end of the pile, a dark purple book appeared. Scrambling for it, I snatched it away anxiously, _Yes! _And wiped away the thick blanket of dust swallowing it up.

Skimming through the pages lightly so that it wouldn't crack to my touch, I saw a series of dark, eerie, but powerful and vivid pictures. Inscriptions from fancy cursive made it difficult to decipher the words and phrases strung in each sentence, and soon, I stopped flipping to crack open the book and start studying. My eyeballs glued to the pages, I first went to the table of contents, absorbing the knowledge into my brain and read: Spiritual power, Influence, Training, Advantages, Drawbacks, Personality/Essence, and lastly Outcome. _What a strange subtitle for each section._ Flipping to spiritual power, I started to read:

Besides training, connecting to your inner spirit and feelings is important as well. If you wish to follow the path as Dark Magician, you must mentally prepare yourself for the consequences. That being said, you must always do daily exercises such as to focus and stay calm, and breathe normally. The outcome is a less painful or dramatic change to your characteristics if you can find that certain amount of calm. Finding peace and harmony occasionally works, however, this could possibly weaken your dark magic powers. Dark magic feeds on anger, resentment, fear, and confusion as well as many other negative emotions which result into being more powerful. CAUTION: in addition to that, it makes you wicked, psychotic and will lose control from all the power.I advise that you take the path of calm and strong instead of criminally insane and powerful.

Influence: Like stated before, evil magic can most likely make you insane. Other symptoms include: Depression, Anger, Suicidal thoughts, suicidal thoughts to others, Dark thoughts in general, Mood Swings, Psychotic happiness, and possible death that sprouts out from a variety of sicknesses. Advantages: Immense power, special attack and defense, an increase in close-combat skills, and a wider variety of fatal skills as well as status afflicting skills. Drawbacks: Relatively weak physical defense, still lacking hand-to-hand combat despite a boost compared to the other paths, possible insanity, possible death. Personality/Essence: Your personality carves your future as a dark magician. It determines the probability of death and insanity. A person susceptible to these have the following characteristics: Crazy, depressed, creepy, mature, disdainful, and anything along these traits. A person with more resistance to these have the following characteristics: Joyful, calm, immature, lively, and anything along those lines. CAUTION: Relatively happy people can be at a great risk if they are not ready for evil, dark magic. Another thing is if their spirit, mind, or physical body is weak, darkness will eat away at it and can cause immensely painful death as well as other unfortunate things.

Outcome: If you follow all of these directions, you will become a Dark Magician.

I sighed, Some of this text is dull and hard to read, smudged with ink and faded with old age. Those pieces of information are possibly very important. _If I miss something, or make even the slightest mistake, it will cause...certain death._

(Eve's POV)

My eyes fluttered open as I sat up in my bed. The others still asleep besides Raven, I stretched and blinked.

"You go ahead and find Aisha, Eve. She could be training or something. Your best bet is the Alchemy house though."

I nodded and exited the house and walked through the dry, but pleasant village. The Blazing heat and light from the Sun beat down on my back. Heat is not good for machines... I hurried up my pace to a brisk walk and barged into the Alchemy House, sweating and panting slightly. Walking into the whimsical house of Chacha Buch I paid no heed to the unusual items and proceeded to the library which of course, would be of huge interest to the purple headed mage.

"Aisha? Are you in here?"

No response. All I heard was the flipping of pages and scuffling of rapid feet. It seemed that whoever was in there was anxious and nervous. Perhaps, hiding something or putting it away. I narrowed my eyes to identify the stranger and approached without greeting. Sprawled over the floor were loose pages, old and fragile. All kinds of dust and the potent, sharp smell of mothballs and paper filled the air. I watched as a pathetic Aisha scrambled to her feet and tucked in a mysterious book in her pocket.

"What is it that you are doing?" I asked nonchalantly.

"U-uh, n-nothing! Just searching for the, uh, um, magic books and stuff. There sure are a lot here! Hehe..."

I rose my eyebrow quizzically and silently dismissed the topic, feigning confusion. _She is a terrible liar, worse than Chung..._ She was not aware that I zoomed the image in ahead of time and saw a dark purple book labeled, "Dark Magician Practices." _Quite like Code Exotic, I see. Power for the price of sanity. However, I shall not interfere with her scheme and lies for the rest will find out, eventually, and when they do, they will give her a beating. I would rather suppress that situation than lash out at her now. Besides, especially Elsword will be doing that for me later on. What I am offended for, is how easily she thought she would get away with her little secret, even more so for me. I am not some kind of fool._

"Yes, I see that."

Aisha sighed with relief and I pretended to be suspicious, but still oblivious of the matter and as fast as you could say what a freaking liar, liar pants on fire, which could be quite literal in this case with Elsword being a magic knight now, she straightened up, fixed her hair and tried, and failed, to avoid eye contact with me. I almost harshly grabbed her wrist and dragged her out, before releasing her at the door way. She raced in front of me so that she was a few feet away, and shoved her hands in her pokets, perhaps so that she wouldn't leave her book in her uniform for prying eyes to see, or for it to fall down and have me pick up. I stared intensely at the back of her lying head and it seemed as if I seared an invisible hole through it. All the while, she was perspiring insanely, but, I knew it was not only the extreme heat, but the fact that she hard poorly fibbed. We arrived at the inn after several intense and awkward minutes to be greeted by Raven.

"Yo, Aisha. Where have you been. Nevermind, it isn't really my concern. Let's go, First Dragon Road, last is Richie Mine."

We headed off immediately with high spirit, for the first mile at least.

"To think that since we're helping those helpless, ungrateful biotches, they would provide us horses or even a freaking camel! But nooo, we have to walk for miles in the barren desert until we get to kill stuff, just great, fan-fudging-tastic..." Elsword groaned in discontent.

_Yes, and it will be even more 'fantastic' when you hear that Aisha is taking the dark path and will cause her to dramatically change and grow distant from the rest of us. You of all people will be torn and possibly depressed and angry that she took a risky, life-gambling option. I know you care for her, but please, understand..._

**Me: Omg...I'm sorry for not updating as frequently as I used to. Having two stories and updating them both in one week is difficult...**

**Everyone else: Don't complain, other BETTER authors have like, a lot more stories than you and still do better at posting new chapters.**

**Me: D: Tries to ignore* Anyways guys, thanks for taking the time for reading this and all the support:D. I could have posted yesterday, but yesterday was my birthday! :3 Also, I'll try to make it longer such as at least a minimal of 1,500-2,000 so that it's more detail and less chapters. Bye.~**


	21. Chapter 21

(Aisha's POV)

Skimming lightly through the pages, again and again, I tried to absorb as much information as I could without getting noticed. Reading the book properly would jeopardize my current situation, despite that the learning process would be easier.

_But still... not even the little sneek-peak in the library was enough to decipher the secrets of this book. There was an unusual padlock, three-fourths my way through the pages, but I still can't figure out how it functions, and more importantly, how it would be unlocked. Maybe some sort of seal..? A spell? Just an old-fashioned lock which I could pick out with my bobby pin? It made me want to tear my hair out in frustration, really, it did. Fantasizing about the mystery it holds, waiting for me to solve it in patience, but anticipation. _

_Hungry, eager to be read. It even had that aura and quality that conveyed some sort of veiled infinite knowledge and power. I can just feel it. It made me shake with excitement and anticipation. Yet... I have other things to worry about. Prioritizing is key, after all, if they find out, what would be the point? My plan would all go to waste.__All because of a simple mistake._

_ That's all it took for my world as a mage to come crashing down beneath my feet, and Eve? She was the hindrance to my security. Eve seems to be a suspicious character at the moment. After all, she saw me sprawling around like a dying carp in the library, didn't she? Other than that, her intelligence is pretty mind-blowing, phenomenal even, I wouldn't be surprised if she found out my little secret without having to rely on physical evidence. It's everything she notices and observes. The way I act, the slight fidgeting of the toes, nervously twirling my hair, the slightly fake and a tad too sugary tone of my voice, she can detect it all. _

_And forgetting? Eve can't forget. She's a Nasod, basically, an advanced work of art that could record and protect valuable pieces of information within their systems, away from prying hands. But the real question was, why hasn't she tattled on me yet? Wouldn't it be satisfying to tell the others of my horrible scheme? I would if I was in her position. But no, for some reason, she's keeping a secret about it as well, but it's not like I'm in safe hands... yet. The cat's still in the bag and I sense that at this rate, the cat will fall out soon, eventually._

(Eve's POV)

Stopping abruptly, there was a fork in the almost non-existant road. It was faint from the tracks of animals and humans, in addition to the buffeting winds and sandstorms, however, it was positively still there. I observed as the others debated on our next course of action, when someone knocked into me. A purple haired mage clumsily walked right into me. Both of us flabbergasted, we fell flat on our faces towards the perhaps unsanitary, dusty, and rather uncomfortable ground. Brushing the misplaced hair out of my face, and straightening my now grimy and wrinkly clothing, I glared at Aisha, sharpening my eyes. She jolted up and fumbled around as a solid object clattered to the floor. Aisha reached out desperately for it, but I was too fast, and snatched it off of the ground.

"Oh, what is this?" I said, with mock surprise.

Wiping away the dust of the trail, and perhaps from the age of the book, I flipped it, front to back, my curiosity peaked. Although I had taken a glance at it, I never had really read the book. All the while of flipping the pages, absorbed into the book with newfound interest, Aisha outstretched her arms in a feeble attempt to get back what was "rightfully hers."

"Give it back!" She whined impatiently.

"No, I think I am good." My gaze never left the pages or even glancing up at her exasperated face.

She ran up to me, extending her arms to snatch the book away, but her efforts were wasted. I brough my right palm out towards her face and held her in place as she ran forward, screaming into my hand whereas I was leisurely reading, taking all the sweet time in the world. Aisha truly looked like a raging owl, reaching out to strangle me with her talons. I'm taking a prediction and guessing as this is Aisha's logic we are discussing, If she can't take the book away from me, then why not constrict me?" But she never got any closer than two feet away. Finally she groaned in defeat and gave up, yet I conveyed no sign of satisfactory. I snapped the book shut with one of my free hands and let go of Aisha, tossing the book to her. She made a wild attempt to catch it as if it were an expensive or valuable item, which it perhaps was, and cradled it in her arms protectively as if it were her own child, despite the fact that it was an inanimate object.

"Did you... read the whole thing in just a minute."

"Ah, yes. I had. It is a book of interest, very valuable indeed." I said, pushing my non-existant glasses up in a matter-of-factly voice.

"If you tell..!" She started.

"If I tell your little secret, what, what could you possibly do to threaten me. I couldn't imagine why you would do such a horrid thing." I quickly countered, looking straight into her eyes."

"Just, please, don't tell, I beg of you!" She trailed off, glancing to the side.

I sighed and rubbed my temples. "..Do not worry, I was not planning on letting the secret slip anyways. You have my word. Yet, do not come crying to me when your little secret has slipped, understand?"

She nodded slowly, even gulping.

Am I intimidating to her? Or is it just the fear of her secret being revealed?

"..Chung?"

"Hm?~"

"Be honest with me, I would hate it if you were to lie, this has nothing to do with anything, I assure you. Am I.. harsh? Not to be trusted and have faith in? Am I a liar?"

He stopped walking and turned around, staring at me so intently it made my skin heat up, I started to squirm. Then it gradually morphed into a thoughtful look. I exhaled with relief, yet I had no idea why I was holding my breath.

"Well, sometimes, you can be. But, I know you have good intentions, whatever you do. Being a ruler over thousands surely has given you a lot of patients, and I respect that. I'm sure others will too, and of course your friends. Don't think too hard about things. Nobody is without mistakes, not even Nasods, but don't think negatively about yourself. Besides, I have faith in you! But what about that I'm a liar thing, where did that come from? If you are, I know that it's probably for a good reason... so... what is it?" He beamed at me.

I blushed a deep scarlet._ Such a sweet boy... But why did he have to sugar-coat it?!_ "So, If I were to say that, someone had a certain secret, and I told you it, would you keep it?"

He paused, then nodded slowly. I took in a deep breath. _I'm only going to say this once. Besides, Aisha has no right to be angry towards me, and I kept the secret for so long, isn't that generous enough? In addition, I trust Chung, I love him after all, If we can't trust him, nobody can._

So, If I were to say: Aishahasdonesomethingthatcouldpossiblycostherlifea ndours,butIassureyouitisfinebecausesheneedsitonlyt oprotectandhelpusandshe'san intelligentgirlsoIamsureshewillnotdoanythingfoolis hwhenbecomingaDarkMagician, _Wow that was extremely choppy and terrible._ take a breath.* Then you will not tell? My face lit up with hope.

He blinked, as if, life threatening situation? Is she cray? Of course I'm going to tell! But to my surprise, he answered with, "If you won't tell, neither will I. Promise."

Aisha happened to overhear us and sprinted up, glaring angrily. "What did I just say, Eve?! Are you some sort of liar?! I entrust you with a secret, well you already knew, and told me you wouldn't tell, but now all of a sudden you explain our situation to Ch-"

"Chung can be trusted. He gave me, us, our word. He s a loyal friend of ours and I wouldn't see as to why not. I have the right to do what I want. My actions speak for itself. You are lucky that I even kept the secret mostly hidden. I could have just blurted it out and watch your downfall, but no. I didn't because I know you are doing the right thing."

"Alright. Was the only thing that escaped her lips.

_Case closed._

Strangely, nobody else had noticed our little mishap, and we were both grateful for it. Suddenly, my mouth twisted into a wry smile, the corners of my lips turning. I looked knowingly at Aisha and Chung and they looked back at me with the same amount of trusting. We understood each other and what had to be done. I now knew that her secret was safe with us, and she did too. Soon, we arrived at the first dungeon, the Dragon Road. With most of us at our second job classes, it was extremely easy to take out each monster, and the dungeon runs flew by almost instantly. Soon, we had already reached the Dragon Nest, and it was getting increasingly difficult to complete a dungeon without a scratch. I leapt over a flaming geyser and summoned a laser in midair, shooting a Lizardman to the ground, then kept running to catch up to the others. A cave bat, vicious and blood thirsty leapt out at me under a crevice, and I swatted it away with an electrocuting fingertip, it shuddered, plummeting to the floor, dead. _Strange, they're usually peaceful, yet after the outbreak of dark El and the El disappearing, I'm not surprised that even the most peaceful species has started to act agitated._

"Particle Ray."

A beam of particles emitted from my fingers, blasting the monsters away to a more comfortable distance to hone in on. Beads of seat started to roll down my cheek, and I grimaced, heat is not compatible with machines. The poorly lit and damp, yet warm cave made it very sticky and hot. Darkness provided a perfect camouflage for those bothersome bats, and at any given time, a Lizardmen could brain me from behind and cause a concussion. We now had to be light on our toes and quick so that we wouldn't get killed from monsters or pass out from heat exhaustion, then get kill, of course. The monsters began to rally up again, gathering in a nice cluster for me to obliterate, when I summoned a Photon Flare, blinding and killing a few enemies from the white, bright light. They screamed in agony as if effected by the radiance, and dissolved into thin air, others hiding away under the cracks in rocks, tending to their wounds.

I snapped my fingers and let out a fast and furious Giga Stream, but the monsters just kept on popping up in the most surprising places. A Lizardmen charged behind me, deciding to be more wise than the rest and aimed towards my cranium, jabbing the stone spearhead dangerously nearing my skull. Not missing a beat to get away from the possibly fatal blow, I created a body of plasma with electricity, retreated harmlessly backwards through its body, and watched as it got electrocuted head to toe, its eyeballs bulging out of its sockets in pain. Its insides seemed to dissolve, not being able to bear the electricity, leaving only the durable flesh and bone behind. I grabbed its skull and threw it at a nearby line of monsters, smashing one in the head. Retreating, a magic missile came from one of those dastardly Lizardmen magician, and I raced away. Monsters, a Fire Komodo and Flame Scorpion took the chance to lunge at me, the person with rotten luck.

_No mp and I was stuck in a small space, unable to glide wherever I please. Just fantastic, this sure is making this task easier._ The Komodo tackled me to the ground, headbutting me in the stomach. I coughed, my breath was taken away with my lungs crippling and I doubled over to the ground. The scorpion stabbed at me mercilessly, dishing out a few hits, each one was flaming, causing me to burn slowly. Wow this would be an idiotic way to get injured. By a large reptile and a naive insect. A flamethrower was heading towards me when an enormous cannon blocked away the searingly painful flames. _Chung? Yep._

"Rumble Shot."

The disgusting creatures were pushed back by a pulsing blue cannonball, then died from the object being driven into them seven times.

"You okay? Be more careful, I would hate for my princess' pretty braid to go undone. Let's work as a team. Kay?" He chuckled.

I fumed. "I am a Queen." I replied lightly, although grateful that my prince in shining armour "came to the rescue."

He shot out another series of heavy artillery and bullets, streamlining and killing the monsters from the sheer force of pressure crushing down on them. Bullets rained down on them as he shot another few rounds and ducked behind a nearby boulder. He glanced every so often behind his shoulder and whipped around, firing off a few quick but deadly shots, before returning back to his shelter and pressing his body and gun against the rock acting as some sort of deadly sniper. Shooting a Mega Electron Ball towards his direction, the Saurus didn't come unnoticed. It teetered behind him and he spun around in surprise and bewilderment, but it stayed standing and swung at him, causing a small bruise, yet the Destroyer absorbed most of the shock. He shot it directly in the head and it screeched as blood, its own blood, dribbled down its crude club, before collapsing to the ground.

"You must have caution as well.~ Teammate." I remarked.

We grinned and began battling as a team, an effective one at that. The monsters began diminishing as we worked together, dying two times as fast as before. I charged a bullet with electricity while he fired them off, they crackled dangerously and in some cases exploded, making us a very potent enemy to be reckoned with. In addition with his cannon balls, I converted them into Mega Electron Cannon Balls making monsters die instantly on contact, and only one was needed for us to be a destroying machine. Experimenting with our new abilities had definitely brought a new level of power and combination moves. I wonder how Aisha's Dark Magician will provide aid for us._ The book had stated that dark magic was a insanely powerful practice after all, danger comes at a heavy, but worth the risk price._

Relishing in the idea of unlocked possibilities. I glanced over at Aisha who was firing off fireballs, but they seemed almost purple now. The process was already beginning to take place, but the others didn't seem to notice. Elsword and Aisha were a fierce combination, leaving flames flickering in their wake. Their weird antics of fire versus fire was interesting, yet effective. I nodded with approval. Raven and Rena were yet another stunning team.

They were both excellent when it came to aerial attacks. Rena jumped into the air, firing off explosive twig and nature arrows, restricting enemy mobility, if a monster slipped by, Raven would summon javelins and brute force with his improved, bone crushing arm, slamming down from the sky, or brining them up with spikes. traps and spears brought a whole world of pain indeed. Everyone seems to be faring well.

"Hello?! Is this thing on?! Oh, good, you're listening, Eve. There's been a report of Wally in Richie's Mine. Skip right to it immediately, forget about Dragon's Nest for now. It can be done at your own time. Your new top priority is to chase him down and destroy him. Wally might already be fleeing from the scene. We've pinpointed Wally's location, and right now my soldiers are battling it out, but we need backup. ASAP."

"Understood." I calmly replied.

The built-in record settings of my systems shut off, and I addressed our new strategy.

"We have a slight change in plans. Retreat immediately to Richie's Mine. Wally has been detected, and we must destroy him at once."

"Understood."

We rushed out of the cursed cave at last, leaving Kayak, the boss we were supposed to defeat, in the dust. His facial expression filled with confusion.

_I will settle this, Wally. Once and for all, you sickening excuse for a Nasod._

**Me: Done! Thank you for waiting oh so patiently for this chapter for coming out guys! It's quite a bit longer than the last, actually one of my longest being about three-thousand words. So I hope you enjoy it! Thank you so much for all the favorites, follows, support, and sticking with me all the way up till chapter twenty-one. Really:D I am genuinely grateful. I have a lot more things in store for this story. Much still has to be done, so stay and read it all until the end! I'm sure it will be worth it. Soda, out.~**


	22. Chapter 22

(Eve's POV)

We rushed out of the dungeon in a blunder, sprinting as fast as we could. This might be our one and only chance to catch Wally before he moves to another location. We have to settle this, once and for all. Soon, we had arrived at Richie Mine. We crouched outside of our destination was quite noisy, bustling as if hard-working individuals were inside. Nasod Miners robotically hefted loads of precious rocks, minerals, and coal into carts where more Nasods shipped them out. The area seemed like colorful streaking veins of routes for the carts to move efficiently through. Puny but sharp and keen sensed Nasod units buzzed about. I scanned them thoroughly, thankful that they were not equipped with blades. TAC* TAC* The sharp sound of pickaxes striking solid rock rung in my ears, the Nasods seemingly groaning and creaking from their fatigued, rusted bodies not able to cope with such harsh hands-on tasks. They did not seem designed specifically for hefting heavy loads despite the fact that they had all the proper equipment to do so, their structure was brittle, poor even to the point that they could collapse any minute.

I hung my head low, feeling their pain and anguish to have to go through such tiresome labor without a single minutes rest, it made me nauseous, it made me sick. Clearly, they were suffering, and whoever had created them should be a low, disgusting being which obviously didn't have the slightest idea on how to properly construct a Nasod for the following tasks. It was surprising that the person even managed to make the poor piles of scrap born into a low-class Nasod and make them move, only to have them rust up and "die" especially without having me aware of such a shadowy and suspicious thing while I was still in a deep slumber. It made me seep with rage, the steam building up inside my systems, I was desperate to release the energy. _Why? Why Wally are you making my- no, our kind alike suffer?_ What I was hardly aware of though, was that jolts of dangerous electricity was encircling my entire body through my intense anger. The buzzing and crackling grew more frequent, louder.

The others looked at me with pure astonishment, some even in shock, panicking while rapidly trying to put out my flames, no, more like electricity, of rage. Their hairs raised on one end due to the overall attention, the air growing thick and crackling. Chung sat besides me, crouching behind a boulder, his Pika ears standing up especially straight with all the static running in the atmosphere. My emotions took over my usually reasonable actions, leaving anger, resentment, and foolish actions in return. All of this energy emanating from our hiding spot was bound to reveal our presence to the nearby Nasods. The energy covered up such a vast radius that you could feel it yards away, and into the Richie Mine. In addition, our rising temperature could give away an obvious heat signature. Chung frantically whisper-shouted.

"Eve! You might give our location away, please stop!"

But there really was no stopping me once I started, my rage was just too severe. The El-Power charged, building up in my core, the peculiar blue markings on my cheeks glowed a bright, dazzling blue as if reacting to my emotions and reflecting my mood. Chung gingerly placed a hand on my shoulder as gently as possible, yet to his surprise, the electricity jumped out, attracted to his armour. Static leaped at his finger and connected slithering up his armour, all over his body. He winced as he braved the extreme damage exerted from myself, the white and blue streaks jutting out. The armour protected him from a majority of the power, but some lightly grazed his unprotected face. His expression was pained, shell-shocked, before he went into awakening, a silver helm blocking out the remainder of the shocks. Finally, after the shock, he sighed, removing his helm, then smoothing out his now even more wild than usual hair. The energy slowly, gradually faded away into the air, no negative emotions to be fed to, away from my body. The cerulean markings no longer glowing brightly with that luster as before.

"Chung! Are you alright?"

He rubbed the back of his head, then let out a subtle A-okay smile. "Yea... It kinda hurt, but I'm okay now! The armor blocked off most of the damage anyways. Else, I'm afraid I would have been a half-fried Pikachu." He grimaced, picturing the disturbing image in his mind. Still, my heart sank knowing that even if it was "okay," "not that big of a deal," that I had hurt my love.

"M-My emotions must have gotten ahold of me for a few moments. I sincerely apologize nevertheless, I will try to suppress my anger towards that cretin Wally in order to fulfill the task at hand. I hope that I was not troubling to anyone at that meltdown."

My head hung even lower than possible, my heart weighing more than a feather, perhaps, a large stone boulder as the words dramatic, overemotional, and bipolar stabbed me in the chest several times. I struggled to fake poker face and managed and awkward twitch which looked like my face was having an irrational spasm all on its own.

"It's okay Eve, we all hate Wally, you of all people must be really devastated that such a low being would be causing such chaos. That's why we're going to guide him out!"

"WHAT?! LET "IT" ESCAPE?!"

"-To the Gates of Eternal Suffering of course!~"

"Oh."

"Now, don't speak so loudly, Eve, it's not like you! Besides, you might give us away...again."

I sweatdroppped, biting my lip, re-playing what I had said, before wincing as I heard an obnoxious, melodramatic voice, _Is that really me saying such things?_ Suddenly, we watched as the Nasods shifted their heads a full threehundred-sixty degrees, away from their mining tasks, staring straight at the boulder and foliage shielding us from their view. They whirred in an agitated motion, seemingly angry that we had interrupted their hard work, dropped all of their mining tools and rushed towards us, ready to rip us apart. The tools clattered to the rocks all at the same time, creating a sound of a trembling earthquake. The sound reverberated throughout the air, and all was silent as they came to a halt right before us._ Crap! We have been spotted!_

I jumped above our hiding place, in the process, firing off a deadly Mega Electron Ball. The Nasod nearest to me, and not an intelligent one at that, charged recklessly at me, when the electron ball came in contact with its metal hide. As soon as the electricity touched the Nasod, the miner shuddered, collapsing on the floor. unable to take the tremendous amount of voltage intake at one time. The pile of scrap gave way, smoldering, having a weak resistance to electric and fire attacks, metal melted away into a more liquidated form. As the Nasod's fellow companions watched as its "flesh" was eaten away my heated electricity, they almost growled, showering sparks from their tools as they dragged them across the boulder, their new objective to avenge their kindred, by stabbing through me with hot iron rods, of course. Swiftly jumping away, I landed nimbly on my toes watching as my allies rallied up and taking after my example.

"Eve! Have the element of surprise, and we didn't say to attack yet..! Lady of El, what is she doing!" I heard the others mumble under their breaths.

"Simply, there is no longer the need to hide, I have already blown our cover. Now that the Nasods are all alert, knowing of our presence, and ready to tear us apart, would you mind to stop staring in disdain, and aid me in battle?"

I huffed while smashing my gears into a nearby Nasod Miner who raised their pickaxe at my skull. The Nasod, as soon as I nailed it in the side, let go of the pickaxe, to what could've been a critical blow to the head. The metal hit the ground, which oddly, made the others snap out of their peculiar trance.

"Point."

Now, Elsword and Raven rushed in from behind the boulder, raising their blades over their heads, Elsword taking the left and Raven the right. They landed safely on a Nasod's head with a crunch and began to hack away with all they got, slashing metal and sending sparks flying everywhere as countless dents and deformed robots began to pile at my feet. Chung, Rena, and Aisha stayed blocked by the boulder, taking advantage of the extra defense and otherwise, cover to snipe enemies with their deadly ranged attacks. I widened my eyes and gasped in quiet silence as a large purple sphere of plasma gathered the Nasods all in one place, stunning them all and brutally killing them. A monstrous stone came out from the Earth with a disturbing gold pupil and blood-red eyes. Wicked sharp shards stuck to the stone as the Hell Stone gyrated, reducing the Nasods to nothing. I shuddered.

_Nobody seems to notice Aisha's newfound dark magic, but it looks devastatingly powerful... _I observed as Chung turned around every so often and shot off a few quick and deadly shots in the core and heads of the Nasods, which crippled before him. He then pressed his shoulder blades against the boulder to conceal himself effectively, repeating the process expertly. He never felt the need to gain some distance with a dual buster, meaning we were doing well. The blueish bullets whizzed inside of them and took chase before killing the robots, one by one, with his Bullet Blitz as if this was a deadly game of connect the dots. Cannonballs erupted from his cannon, blasting them back for Rena to shoot countless twig arrows, nailing several Nasods straight in between their eyes, hearts, in addition to their knees. Unable to move or see correctly, the targets weirdly stumbled in a strange, horrible fashion, not even able to reach our close-combat fighters, and even less our ranged ones. Nasods who still managed to perform an attack still had a low chance of survival, exploding after a period of time when the twig arrow's time was up, or with the effortless snap of her fingers, exploding on Rena's command.

Powerful gusts of wind, and the unavoidable traps rounded the Nasods up into a large, easy to target cluster. With that, they were less coordinated, making them even more rabid, out of control, stepping all over each other in a blunder, their movements being supressed even further. Nature winds swirled at the green-eyed elf who seemed flawlessly invincible, as a wonderful backup, also able to take care of herself. She stabbed the last of them in the eye with her dagger Erendil, with a thrust to the chest, she inserted the knife deep into it, the Nasod beeping in pain. Releasing the knife from the Nasod's chest, there was left a nasty, less than pleasant gash then, kicking the now dead robot into the rest of the scrap metal pile. From that point, we advanced into the mines. The stygian black charcoal jutting out of the caves seemed extremely unstable, seemingly ready to crack and crumble over us. A terrifying rock tomb that would eventually encase and suffocate us.

I glided by uneasily, the cave was ready to collapse in a few strong blows. We just could not take the risk and blow this wonderful opportunity to strike. Only a few meters we had advanced when an entirely new wave of Nasods towered over us. Perhaps getting the message that their comrades had died, they had immediately retreated for the time being to rally up every single Nasod with the determination to kill us. No longer panicking and on familiar ground, we were at a significant disadvantage. I grimaced. _They are not making this any easier for me to deal with. Nevertheless, they must be eliminated for the sake of destroying Wally._ I boldly charged in with my comrades behind me, my instincts taking over, I emitted a plasma electric dummy when a Nasod got too close for comfort and hurled a boulder at my feet.

Instead, I retreated backwards, momentarily untouchable, as the boulder ran into the dummy and exploded. The workers narrowed their eyes, then charged at us all at once, showing no mercy or remorse. The tidal wave, more like tsunami of rusted metal trampled over each other to reach us. So naïve and hasty. I leaped and soared over the giant wall of robots, stepping on their heads and bodies to escalate my jumping power, as well as their anger. Eager to get through the center of them to kill them all at once, I pushed through the angry mob as pickaxes and rusted blades sailed over my head, and cutting pieces of my hair and skin. I touched the sides of my ivory skin to find a shallow cut and a razor blade embedded within my cheek. The orb on my head deflected off most of the harmful objects, when I dove inside the center pile and braced myself.

"Everyone! You must close your eyes. I shall temporarily blind and confuse them. The,n you must strike ruthlessly."

My allies simply nodded, knowing exactly what to do, and turned their heads away, knowing of the side effects, and otherwise, consequences of looking at me at this time. Palms covering eyes, they were ready. I nodded.

"Photon Flare!"

I stretched my arms out, an intense light blasted off my body, the Nasods screaming in agony like vampires. _There is a possibility that being in this dark, dreary cave dwelling for so long, they are not accustomed to light. Forever working without the light and sunshine of the Sun's rays as well as the fresh air and clear blue skies to revitalize their spirits. How tragic. They don't know what they are missing in life._

**Me: Done! Omg...It's been awhile since I've done something. D: patawarin mo ako... I'm losing inspiration and interest, but if I do find it, I'll try to update once in a while to those who actually enjoy and read this. After all, I had created the perfect ending for this story, I don't want it to go to waste, but the updates are most likely going to come out slowly. As for Can't Change My Fate, I don't know. Maybe I'll continue it if I make a good idea. I'm sorry:(. Thanks for reading this chapter though! I enjoyed making it. Please leave suggestions! Soda, out~**


	23. Chapter 23

(Eve's POV)

The light illuminated a brilliant, shimmering path of sapphire, guiding our way towards victory. Only the sounds of Nasods seemed to hiss viciously with steam, still affected by the Photon Flare remained. Finally, the radiant glow gradually faded into the state of nothing, unable to give off any more luster. Our glimmer of prosperity and hope fading into the distance. I grimaced as yet another wave of Nasods overwhelmed us, _it is too much to handle..._ I need everyone's complete cooperation, As if reading my mind, which was a good possibility, the lilac haired mage winked at me.

"Hey Eve! We're not going down easily without a fight. You have us! Even though you totally DIDN'T screw up earlier or anything. We're there to pwn Wally with ya."

I sharpened my half lidded eyes and scolded her deeply. "Oh? Really? And YOU didn't "screw up" as well with that little "dark" mishap?"

"Um, uhh."

"Hey, Aisha, what's Miss Pokerface talkin bout?" Elsword questioned.

"Uhhh... LOOK! MORE METAL TO DESTROY! KILL IT, KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

"Okay!" He shouted with enthusiasm.

I face palmed. _Elsword is still blunt as a brick and Aisha is well, Aisha. Our gang is still the same..._ _and will always stay by my side._ The scenic view of warm, smiling faces in contrast with their fatigued expressions filled with blood, sweat, bruises, and scratches filled me with energy.

"Let us go everyone! Onward to our goal!"

They shouted in approval.

"Alright, Chung, come! I have a plan."

"Can do, my Queen."

I intertwined my fingers with his, and they laced perfectly together like a mold as if we were meant for each other.

"Use Sharpshooter Syndrome on my command."

He faltered as if _why? That move was relatively weak for mobs, Comet Crasher would have been far more superior in eliminating mobs,_ but I knew what would precisely happen. Nasods grew even more enraged by the second and came at us in all different, uncoordinated directions, we couldn't possibly escape. Just what I had wanted, _3..2..1.._ I counted silently in my systems.

"NOW!"

Chung rose his Silver Shooter skyward and pressed on the trigger. A concentrated azure sphere came out from his gun, absorbing energy gradually. An intense blue light shot off into the sky like a firecracker explosion, a cerulean shield expanded from the magical circle like a comet over the area, covering the entire radius of the mob, similar to a thin blanket of mana. At the same time, I emitted yet another Photon Flare from my body, connecting to his and borrowing some additional power from Chung. With the both of us linked in soul and body, the flares power increased by double the original, I glowed, like an angel, celestial spirit, no... seraph. The two shields of light merged, attracted and compatible with each other, creating a two layer blanket of blue light. Finally, the last gust of wind threw the Nasods like rag dolls and expanded even further, engulfing them as they drowned in the pain of light.

Hissing with agony, the Nasods disappeared without a trace, one by one, ending their suffering. _Photon Syndrome.._ I thought deeply with a smile traced on my lips. Chung looked at me incredulously, his adorable paw print eyes glinting with surprise and adoration.

"How did you..?"

"No time to discuss things, they are not all destroyed, love."

He blushed. "To think you would be our knight in shining armour..."

_ I have finally gotten myself together._ My lips turned up into a subtle smile, feeling slightly full of myself. _Yes, I know, I am brilliant._

"Hey cool! Dont steal all the spotlight now, c'mon Aisha! Lets do something like that too!"

Elsword grinned warmly and held her, grasping Aisha's hand firmly. She blushed like crazy, but didn't show any signs of resistance.

"Just go with anything! Sword Fire!"

Elsword jabbed his blade unto the earth, and cracks the size of large pipes creeped its way to the Nasods which fell inside the deep crevices, unable to get up. Crimson flames ran through the veins and burnt the Nasods to a crisp as they melted slowly.

"Dark Cloud!"

Aisha forcefully threw down her staff into a crevice as a mysterious, poisonous jade green gas substance swirled from it and slipped into the cracks with ease. The veridian noxious cloud enveloped the Nasods as their iron and steel hides melted right off and fueled the roaring fire. What a perfect combination of fire and gas... I thought, stunned

"Dark Fire!~"Aisha sang proudly with a wicked grin.

Raven surveyed the damage being done and he whistled.

"Rena?" He began.

"Sure thing!"

Rena's eyes narrowed in intense concentration for a sure critical hit, calling forth the power of the wind to inflict heavy air attribute damage. It rose up in giant diagonal waves which towered over our opponents. The immense power of wind energy easily knocked them off of their feet and into the air, the rush of nature green energy too much even for their heavy weight and mass.

"Raven."

"Yes ma'am" he chuckled.

"Valkyries Karma!" Raven roared.

A series of wicked sharp black javelins erupted out of nowhere, shooting skyward and catching the plummeting Nasods from being knocked down and annihilating the last of them with the burning explosions. We left quite a mess behind and didn't even bother to pick up the remains of ash and burning cinders as the remaining wind gusts reverberated through the mine and traveling outwards, towards freedom.

"Let's go. We're done here." Raven growled with impatience.

The light thud of our footsteps disturbingly reverberated in the now empty cave. It felt too quiet at this point, and I didn't detect any movement further in the cave. The wind churned and picked up the scraps of metal and pebbles from the ground. _I wonder why... Wally could have fled already. After all, we took much too long to dispose of the monsters and on top of that, Wally does not seem to care at this point, as if it is waiting in anticipation for us. I do not like it one bit. It could be a possible trap, but we have to press on, we have already gone too far in the cave to turn back._

I came to a sudden halt in front of a large stone door. Elsword ran right into me.

"Hey what giv-"

"We're here." I answered, cutting his sentence off.

The humongous stone door loomed over us, daring, taunting us to open it. I hastily grabbed for the handle, when I faltered, drinking a health potion and swishing the sweet, sickly red liquid between my teeth. I gagged as I reached for another fizzing mana potion and downed it and the rest followed my example. We had to be in full shape to face Wally. Then, I swung open the door.

"WELCOME. I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING ALL OF YOU."

The gang stepped up, furious to beat the living hell out of Wally, but I stepped forward calmly, thrusting my arm out to the side to indicate that rash actions would not prove to help in this situation.

"Yes. I'm sure that from the ruckus outside, you could properly hear us. Hear the flames, the wind, the chaos. All of your little monsters have died easily by our hands, you are the only one left, and this, as you can see, is a clear dead-end of the cave. Stand down now, and we will not have to kill you. You are at an obvious disadvantage. We have the edge. Now surrender, or suffer the consequences of eternal suffering and judgement."

I stared directly in Wally's giant ruby eye, my head tilting up ever so slightly so that my eyes were leveled with its demented one eye. Noticing that the colors of Wally were no longer blue, red, and yellow, but a swamp green and grey, I scanned Wally quickly, but with just my eyes, not my systems. _Last time, I recall, Wally had almost given me a virus... Can't take any chances. It seems that it had gotten a slight upgrade. The hide is significantly stronger, but everything has a weakness. Even myself. No matter._ Feeling satisfied with my non-quivering voice, I was almost sure that Wally would surrender. Almost.

"FOOLISH LITTLE QUEEN OF NASODS, I AM NOT NAIVE, UNLIKE YOU. KILL ME? WAIT FOR A FEW MORE CENTURIES AND TRY TO DEFY ME. I WILL NEVER SURRENDER. I HAVE THE EDGE, AFTER ALL, I AM WALLY."

I gritted my teeth at such childish behaviour. _Pride is one's biggest downfalls..._ I counted silently, waiting for the robot to change his mind. If it even had one given that foolish response.

"Your time to decide is up. You are the naïve one. This was your last warning, yet you do not heed it. Who in the right mind would turn down this generous offering of a chance at life? Oh. It would only be none other than you. Don't make me laugh, I have much more experience as well as knowledge than you will ever achieve. Now you shall die by the hands of The Little Queen of Nasods, Eve, and her comrades. Suffer the punishment, trash."

Given the signal, I withdrew my hand and the invisible wall Wally and us disappeared, yet we did not close the gap between each other. No one moved a muscle. Looks like they are being strategic. Good. We shall use the plan that we had last time. I pointed to myself, making tapping motions in the air, then at Wally, my back facing away from it. Hoping they would get the charade-like hint, I swung my arms down and darted towards a scrap of metal, then ducked behind it. Wally's eye whirred inside its head as if it were confused. Good my cloaking has worked. That should give me enough time to hack into its systems. Hopefully. The monstrocity rushed towards us, baring its silver talons and wildly swinging its arms about with no strategy at all. Tch. I opened up the program and cracked my knuckles, narrowing my eyes.

"Moby, Remy. Let's get to business."

A transparent blue keyboard flashed right in front of my eyes, my fingers tapped on the keys instinctively with preciseness and accuracy as fast as humanly possible. Or would that be Nasodly? I had already launched a few viruses and errors in Wall'ys core. Hopefully, my typing skills will not fail us, and that we will gain a head-start on things if I slow Wally down, find its weakness, and send some complications. Moby and Remy played their own roles, bringing out their own unique systems in order to aid me in some sort of way. My eyes accidentally came in contact with Wally's. It had spotted me. I bit back a curse, my urgency allowing me to type even faster. Wally was fast approaching, only a few yards away now.

"Sorry, can't let you pass, Queens orders." Elsword smirked in defiance as he stopped the wicked sharp claws from skewering me with his blade.

"Face us. You are our opponent now." Raven added coldly, while rushing to Elsword's side incase he were to be thrown off-balance.

"ALLOW ME TO PASS, FOOLS. OR DO YOU ALL WANT TO END LIKE HER."

"Well, sorry, but like we said, you can't get near my Queen. Do so much as give a scratch on her face, and you'll end up like that!~" Chung said with dark intent, but an innocent face, pointing at a dead Nasod which body looked like it had been trampled by elephants. He slammed his cannon at Wally's feet.

"YOU-"

"We are wayy better than you, and trolling you at the same time? Yeah, we knew that." Elsword and Aisha laughed, cutting the frustrated Nasod off, high-fiving each other. I twitched. _What the heck are they doing?! Eh, at least they are saving me some time. What odd ones. But, it looks like the jinxed it. _Wally roared, slamming his thick robotic arms into their stomachs, making them skid along the rough surfaces in a not-so-graceful manner. The battle had just begun and they had already taken a bit of damage, and Wally had none, which forced myself the urge to type faster. I winced, but thought better of it. _They're a lot stronger now, stay calm. _I reassured myself, trying to convince myself otherwise. I smiled with satisfaction, the resistance seemed weak to me compared to the last battle, which took me almost the entire time to crack the code, but I was already three-fourths into scanning the data, and to that, I grinned with triumph. _Almost done loading..._ Clearing away the huge bold lettered texts and a series of ERRORS, I managed to squirm through the security and slammed the Enter button with my index finger.

"I have it!"

**Me: Okay, finally got this chapter! Hope you somewhat liked all the combined moves, I imagined that it would be cool, and I will probably add more as the story progresses. Also, I plan to update quicker (or try to) because I really want to get to the end chapterrr. Anyways, thanks for all the support and leave some suggestions, I greatly value them. :3**


	24. Chapter 24

(Eve's POV)

Once again, a clear illustration diagram of Wally, its parts, and systems flashed before my eyes, all at once, similar to fireworks. I blinked, momentarily stunned by the overwhelming machinery and mechanics being displayed, given detailed explanations of each. Hm... I thought Wally would be much less complicated, but this... My golden eyes sharpened as I read, trying to find some sort of flaw in its structure, scanning each paragraph in seconds and drinking in the information and knowledge. Alternating between files, the words were like a blur even to my acute vision, only capable to grasp the words: TYPE WALLY in bold. Hacking in proved to be less of a chore, but weaving through the countless "threads" like a nimble spider seemed near impossible. And what happened when a spider was not capable of their web?

They have to start the process all over again before they die of starvation. Suddenly, I spotted a file all in caps labelled perfectly as WEAK POINTS. I snorted, rolling my eyes at the secrecy of it all, then forced the file open. Now that I had pinpointed a certain thread, it was no longer a frantic overdrive, but my movements became automatic and precise. Careful not to miss a beat or smash a false key, the words popped up as I read them aloud,

"Eye! Core!"

My comrades didn't bother to look back at my face, but I was sure that if I did see their expression, it would be pure, utter confusion. Gritting my teeth, I silently screamed before the understood. Sliding down the boulder, I panted, gasping for air as if i had run a marathon. Yet, cracking the code had consumed most of my energy, the actual fight had not yet commenced. Knowing that, I staggered in an almost upright position, attempting to look dignified. I raised my chin in superiority to show that Wally had lost that round which only made it roar, rage rising like an unstable volcano, ready to explode. Wiping the sweat off of my wispy bangs, I looked anything but a Queen of a high rank an authority, legs wobbly, with palms placed on my knees.

Just like that, my legs failed me, my stiff fingers refused to cooperate and break my fall, but a supporting hand held my shoulder in check before I would fall face first into the dirt. Wally,taking this as an opportunity while I was vulnerable, practically leaped at me, lashing out wildly with its claws. A certain blue-eyed, Pikachu haired boy came to my aid, holding me close to his body, while at the same time, blocking the strike. Neither side budged. _Incredible... and keeping Wally in place by himself?_ Lips slightly turned down into an angry frown with determined eyes, I blinked, my eyes widening gradually. I have not seen him like this since the Shadow Forest incident. I could not describe it very well, yet it was on the tip of my tongue. He was radiating a certain unpleasant aura that warned everyone not welcome to back off, yet warm towards myself, my eyelashes fluttered as I blinked several times. _Yes, is was being protective and possibly, a bit possessive._

"Touch her and you die..." He snarled fiercely, holding me closer. His palms tightened around my shoulder while it started to lose circulation. But loosened his grip slightly.

Even though this was not the appropriate situation, I was feeling "warm and fuzzy" inside knowing that he cared for me so much, as if only my mere presence caused him the strength to keep Wally at bay. _Because everyone is trying their hardest, I must also do my part,_ that action revitalized me. Wally only seemed to laugh, if it could, clutching its side painfully and clenching its talons.

"What is it that is so amusing?" I spat, but Wally did not seem to be directing its attention towards me, which sent a slight twinge of annoyance into my systems, but was conversing with the rest of my friends in an even, more stable tone, as if I was not even in Wally's presence, and that angered me greatly. Balling my fist up in fury, it started to shake, but I did not step forward, everyone else was listening however, so I lowered my hand silently.

"This is interesting, the Nasod race has killed many of your kind, yet you still help the Little Queen of Nasods?"

"Eve would never betray us. She's our valuable freind."

"These "friends" that you speak of are not needed, pathetic humans, perhaps that is why you are so weak. And you. Wally finally pointed to me. You are just trash that has fallen, the victim who had grown soft, a coward who can no longer rule. That is why I, Wally, have stepped up to the throne along with King Nasod, of course, who is a very powerful leader. Surrender, it will lessen the time wasted on dealing with you."

"Her name is Eve, and don't tell us what to do." They had a low, dangerous intent.

"Also," Wally started, its red eye looking at Chung's in distaste.

"You seem to have some sort of "affection" for this scrap. She is weak, unable to rule. You say she is different, but she is the same as any Nasod alike. No emotion. Cannot achieve feeling. This situation is between the two of us, Prince of Hamel, and the rest of you."

A silent curse slipped through Chung's mouth, gazing at the floor, he had a sudden interest in his boots. I knew he absolutely detested when people knew who he actually was, royalty. It was a touchy, if not completely avoided subject, and that was what interested me so greatly. He did not care about his rank of authority, was kind, treated the same as every other commoner. So, I was surprised, naturally, as I was the complete opposite, and on top of that, a Queen. Of Nasods._ He was the first to warm up to me, and treat me like... a friend, and I have never, ever, in centuries felt that before. He was aware of what I liked, disliked, my aspirations. No, everyone did, and it had only been weeks. Compared to Wally's low understanding of my rule and personality, it had no right to criticize me. Not even... Kind Nasod who had known me far longer than most. My friends knew me well. They did not._

As id reading my mind, they whispered something. I strained to listen. "You don't know her."

Louder, practically yelling at the top of their lungs, they screamed, "YOU DON'T KNOW HER. She has feelings! Emotions!"Chung started.

"And you know what?! It just made her even stronger. The stronger determination to revive her race without their suffering caused by you. She FELT the misery of her race, she felt the sorrow that must surely be there, and her actions broadcast that. You are the corrupt one, seeking power and vengeance for the price of "temporary" Nasod suffering. You're a complete psycho!" Rena continued the rant.

"She would never betray us, or her race for that matter. Her problems are our problems. When she cries, we cry. When she is happy, we're happy; which I'm sure she's never fe with you present; or this King Nasod. All the memories we shared in mere months meant something, we're not putting it to waste." I heard the familiar voice of Elsword.

"Whoever hurts Eve, or if it was any one of us, has to face the consequences of us all." Raven answered harshly.

"You made your own Nasods suffer, and through them, Eve has suffered. We will help her, and the cost of our lives compared to her sake doesn't seem much. We will destroy you, and King Nasod." Aisha hissed, glowing a dark purple hue.

"So that she can smile and start over." Chung ended softly.

Beads of hot tears gathered at the corners and back of my eyes. I was choked up, at a loss for words. They had taken it out of my mouth and said possibly the most touching thing I've ever heard, and if was about me. It gave me strength. _Everyone is standing up for my problem, and for all of Elrios. I must return the favor._ Wally seethed with rage.

"I see. And if I took her like this and tortured her, you would feel the same pain as her."

My eyes widened in horror as Wally rushed up to me, knocked everyone aside violently, and swung down, grasping me harshly. _Wally does have emotions. It's called insanity._ I gasped as Wally crushed me without mercy or remorse, forcing the air out of my lungs and blocking my airway. I frantically struggled in its iron grip, only to be constricted tighter. I was choking. Trying to calm myself down, I took thin, shallow breaths of air to keep myself alive while altering my systems as much as I could to adapt.

It was as if my life force was slowly draining, and just like that, without a good fight, I would be dead. Grimacing, I stopped kicking to think of a proper strategy, perhaps stall Wally for a bit longer, a stone calm expression on my face. Everyone rushed forward, almost like rabid animals, when Wally held me up as if I was some sort of prize to show that he had already won, or in this case, a hostage. They cringed, taking a few steps back.

"Yes, surrender." Wally mocked evilly.

To my surprise, they lowered their weapons cautiously with a look of helplessness, but the same amount of ferocity stayed evident.

" Let Her Go." Chung said plainly, over exaggerating each word.

But Wally did not seem to be the slightest bit fazed, only standing there smugly while I went through excruciating pain. I cried out when Wally cut my face with his claws, crimson blood dribbling in a thick line, driving everyone mad. They rushed forward once more, but withdrew again. Do not act weak. You are just making this harder for them. Calm down and take the pain.

"It's okay everyone. I'm not that weak... I will make it. We will make it!" I smiled weakly. My condition told otherwise. Nevertheless, I made an effort to convince them. Their eyes softened. But I didn't expect when Wally touched the jewel on my forehead.

_What? No!_ Shutting my eyes as tight as I could, I began to see flashes of color so that I would not see their pained faces. Wally was hacking in my systems in the easiest way possible. _My core._ I shivered as something cold seemed to enter my mind. _It was not warm at all. Like steel. It was Wally._

Never having my core be exposed, It was an alarming feeling, as if someone was walking over my grave, it sent chills down my spine. Files, information, memories, slipped past, but was left untouched, yet, I still kept myself fully alarmed. Deeper and deeper into my core, I saw intricate circuitry. Some the size of pencils, and some the size of an eyelash. Chips, data, everything was displayed to Wally, only to have me watch intensely. A red dot came out of Wally's core, entering mine.

Squinting, I tried to make out what it was, hoping for the worst. _A virus._ Feeling crestfallen, I had yet to discover what it was going to do to my body, how it was going to affect me. _Eve... Eve._ Confused, I spun around to see who was calling out to me, but saw no one but myself and Wally.

"EVE!"

My eyes snapped open. Then, I was back in Richies Mine along with Wally. Something was certainly off. But, I did not know what. _What was the virus doing? I cannot possibly repel it now until it takes full affect._ Looking at my friends faces, realization struck me. I had gone unconscious for a few minutes. But it only took a few minutes to get my mana charged.

"Photon Flare!" A bright light escaped from me, blinding Wally's eye.

"Now is your chance! Someone, run to the controls I used to hack Wally's systems. It is on standby, behind the boulder, take control of Wally's body so it can release me. Go!"

They took action quickly, not a moment's hesitation, but I felt everything go in slow-motion

"Chung, you're somewhat decent with technology right? GO!" Elsword shouted across the field.

Chung nodded before racing across the field while Wally blindly charged at him, forgetting about crushing me, instead, to dispose of him.

"Not so fast." The rest of our team said, engulfed in awakening energy.

Rena fired off five twig trapping arrows in a neat trail. Wally stepped right on it, releasing wind and explosives in its direction, pushing Wally back many yards. Wally rushed up again carelessly while Rena summoned a wind sphere. When they came in contact, the wind sphere expanded, exploding on Wally shaking the entire radius and flattening the unraveled ground. Amazingly, I did not get hurt, perhaps because I was not deemed an enemy. This time, the Nasod decided to wise up, remaining in its spot and firing of several honing missiles.

"This move again?" Elsword groaned before taking an action.

An extremely long blade protruded from Elsword's blade, made from the wind element. The powerful sword skewered all three missed, blowing them backwards. Then, four scarlet magical blades bursted through the ground, serving as lethal traps. Wally stepped right in them, howling in pain almost. Aisha joined Elsword, directing her finger to the swords and casted four lasers with an extreme horizontal range. It seared the ground, the beam so intense, that my skin grew hot even at this distance. I recognized it right away, plasma. The swords accepted Aisha's lasers, powering them up significantly. Plasma, wind, and fire overthrew Wally in an instant. A combined move.

"Rising Plasma Cutter!"

The Nasod was not even able to reach Chung. Meanwhile, Chung was at the controls, hopefully knowing what he was doing by the looks of it. I sighed in relief, thanking myself silently for teaching him lessons on Nasodry awhile back. Wally fired off a beam of light in Chung's direction. Waves of powerful wind churned at Wally's feet, Rena fired off another Evoke. Raven did not dawdle, a nuclear missile came out of what seemed like nowhere, before exploding into a mushroom-shaped cloud, not directly on Wally, but in his path. Wally still took major damage as the earth-shaking explosion let off smoke, and even more smoke, clouding my vision and obliterating everything in its path, except for me. Now, the entirety of Wally had almost been destroyed. _Now they can land physical attacks._

Wally wailed, "Why is it that you are landing hits on me."

"Simple, we have grown stronger since our last not the little punks you faced a few months back." They grinned devilishly.

Rena executed a forward slash with a gale of wind at the speed of light, I couldn't follow it, but I knew her blade, Erendil, had caused a fatal attack. Wally's hide sliced off as easy as cutting butter due to all of that firepower, and the Nuclear Karma combination proved to hit it hard. Elsword and Raven sprinted forward, hacking away to their heart's content as Wally stood there, helpless as I when it entered my core. A variety of powerful magic and blows overwhelmed the Nasods, among them being Phoenix Talon. The mystical firebird shrieked before uppercutting Wally's head, its bright scarlet plumage brushing up against the metal, causing scorch marks to be evident. Its dazzling golden beak radiated, lighting up the dark cave as it tore at Wally, pecking and spearing in a ruthless frenzy before fading away when Wally forcefully hurled the majestic bird into a wall with a painful crack. The bird disappeared as soon as it had been summoned. Aisha chanted in a low dark voice and I knew she was dishing out something.

The rest of the gang watched in disbelieve as Aisha casted a dark purple spell on the phoenix, an unrecognizable mist swirling around the animal. The bird like what legend said, looked reborn again as if it had been bathed in a fire bath, ready to battle once more. _It was resurrection magic._ Our team, especially Elsword held grim looks, but decided to perhaps press for questions at a later time, obviously, the fact that Aisha was a dark magician had slipped but she simply had too in this situation. I observed as Wally was raked in the face with pointed claws, similar to blazing daggers. Wally was not so lucky. It had been clawed in its weak red-eye, causing it to cut in a million pieces. The mystical Sun bird attempted to retrieve me, but the monster Nasod kept it out of reach whereas I released countless volts of electricity into Wally's circuitry to cause some internal damage. It worked, and acrid smoke soon filled the air, the charred wires unable to function, leaving small sparks.

"Enough." Wally screeched.

Wally came in a blur, It retaliated wildly with each combo, first taking them all in one hand, then slamming them to the ground over and over against sharp rocks. Their breath wooshed right out of their lungs, soon enough, they were spitting out blood as well as swallowing the kicked up dust. Intense explosions were summoned at them over a wide area, it just couldn't be avoided. They all tumbled to the ground, their near lifeless bodies skidding uselessly upon the ground. Missiles directed themself onto each member, but they were still shocked, unable to avoid that one either. It swung like a mad Nasod, gyrating its heavy body like a top to create a sphere of bright gold light appeared at its talons, ready to fire off a disastrous beam that was sure to obliterate our environment.

Everyone swore at once, searching for cover, unable to summon any more fancy skills from their sleeves. Cursing, they almost had a look of defeat as they hugged one another closer as if, this was the end. Elsword had a hard expression on his face, but hidden within it was despair. Aisha went to her knees, as if she couldn't believe what was happening. Raven and Rena gave distant looks while Chung was still working at the controls.

"Oh please!" I sighed, exasperated, waving my free hands in the air. "Forfeiting so easily now? Never thought I would be the one to cheer you on, perhaps Aisha or Elsword, but that's besides the point! It's either you die, right here and now by this beam, or by fighting bravely, and perhaps surviving? Think about it. You're this close to beating that thing."

It seemed that I snapped them out of their despair, as they wacked at Wally with all their might. Elsword single-handedly clashed with Wally's talon's, driving it back with a roar as if it were nothing. They clashed together once more, but Elsword had sustained far less damage. Planting his feet into the ground for leverage, he pushed his head forward, driving the blade close, then, knocked Wally out of balance. Seizing the chance, Raven smashed through the circuitry with his Nasod fist, ripping out wires as if they were pieces of grass. Soon, Wally was near hollow, it was disgusting, but satisfying. With a flip of her wrist, Rena retrieved her fallen Erendil, charging with no mercy, her satanic aura appearing.

_Maybe it is stronger than awakening..._ She slashed in a wide, deep arc, forming an X over its broad chest, then stabbing it quietly in its weak limbs, hitting all of the vital points of a Nasod. How she knew, I did not have the slightest idea. Wally creaked, bringing it down on one knee, then, remained unable to move, but still alive. _Just die already!_ Elsword jogged up to Chung, poking his friend's arm weakly, still trying to catch his breath and gazed over the monitor.

"S-so, Chung, can I use that remote-thingy realll quick?"

"No."

"Awh, c'mon, pleasee?"

"No. We HAVE to get Eve out of Wally's hold! Hm... Aha! This one!"

Wally's arm reacted quickly, but just slightly. Yes...

"Oh, so that's how you move that thing!" Elsword shoved chung inside.

"Elsword NO!" I screamed.

"Don't worry, I gots this!"

Chung refrained himself from strangling the read head to fight for the controls. Elsword pressed the command sequence for the joint movement, only to have Eally punch itself with its own arm. I stiffled a laugh, snickering in my palm as Elsword mashed the same buttons repeatedly. Wally socked itself again and again.

"Stop hitting yourself!" Elsword taunted with glee. Soon, the tense atmosphere shattered, everyone rushed up to the controls to participate in the fun.

"Make 'em kick itself. No! Shhot a missile in its eye!"

I sighed, exhasperated, "Just make it let me go."

"Oh, sorry. (Lady of El, she ruins all of the fun...)"

The talons unfolded itself from my petite self while I landed gracefully to the ground, brushing off my dress. They all screamed and ran up to me, checking to see if I was alright.

"It's fine," I said, lightly smacking their hands away. "Thank you."

Slwoly, we glanced at Wally. Its ruby eye's glint faded, before turning pitch black. The body lay motionless, not even a single twitch. They waited in anticipation as I examined Wally close.

"It is dead."

They grew silent.

"We won!"

We embraced each other in a cheesy cliché group hug, even Raven, almost crushing each other to pieces, before collapsing to the ground, exhausted. _All of our determination, battle, strategy, and- and touching words drove us forward to victory..._ Although I thought that in my mind, they seemed to understand what I was thinking as a joyful smile appeared at my lips with everyone else. _That contagious, silly victory smile._ All that was serious faded away into the deep happiness of victory as everyone relished in the thought that we had at least temporarily, saved Elrios. _But of course, we weren't done with our mission yet. There is still King Nasod to take care of..._ But I shook the thought away to just relax and smile for even a moment. _Perhaps, at this rate, with all of my friends, memories, and happiness, I will be able to smile again and start over a kingdom anew. My original goal is getting closer by the minute, all because of them. I will smile until I can no longer smile anymore, and embrace my goal and friends with open arms._

**Me: Omg, sorry for the slightly late update, things are going slowly! ): This is a lot longer than my other chapters though, so I made up for length. Hope you don't mind the change in Wally either, the dialogue was just getting so annoying. X-X But, this story is nearing its end! Most likely five or less chapters. I just love typing up this story for you guys! And myself of course, I keep getting new ideas each day!^^. I have big plans for the final chapter, so please stay and read it! Thanks again for the reviews, follows, and favorites! It keeps me going. Anyways, I will TRY to update faster if it kills me, one shared computer is hardly going to stop me. Sige po, paalam!~**


	25. Chapter 25

(Eve's POV)

We pried ourselves loose of each other, still wiping joyous tears of victory from our eyes, but I stopped midway, tuning my horns to a low, buzzing sound. The sound was indeed irritating, and it worried me greatly. It was not like a bee buzzing directly in my ear, more like a smooth humming sound, several miles away. I brushed my sensitive fingers over the wall of the cave, concentrating ever so slightly, closing my eyes shut. There it was, a vibration through the rocks, the buzzing sound gradually grew louder and louder, the sound of something airborne. I continued my search, and soon, everyone's eyes were on me, listening intently and watching my odd movements.

Pressing my earlobe to the wall, it indeed was grumbling sounds. Tuning my hearing even further, I tried to make out any subtle movement or waves, to hear a skidding sound. The scratching surface of the earth, and the crunch of the dry leaves being heaved out was evident. _A chopping noise, like the blades of a propeller..._ I waited intently for it to subside, but it remained and just grew as the seconds flew past. My eyes widened in realization.

"Propeller?!Engine?!"

"What..?"

There is a possibility that an airship or plane of some sort is heading this way. I can hear it through this cave; something, or someone going towards this chamber, possibly searching for Wally to transport it to another area. Once they realized something is off, and there is a pile of dead Nasod Miners, of course they would start to grow suspicion and search the ENTIRETY of this cave. Then, they will realize that Wally is dead and will report back to the higher authorities of this incident. They will be here any minute now, we must make haste and conceal ourselves!"

We snapped into action as I scanned our environment, but found nothing. "There are not any suitable hiding spots..."

Every crack, crevice, and shield were blasted into pieces from our recent battle, all that remained was this large open field. The enemies would be sure to find and kill us now. Urgh.

"No, no, no, this won't do... This cannot be happening!"

The panic rose, and so did the sound of the airship. It had landed already, the buzzing noise stopped completely, yet we were still out in the open, waiting to die. Aisha lunged for Elsword's hand, then chanted a familiar incantation. As if his body was bathed in invisible ink, Elsword disappeared, but we could still overall sense his presence.

"Don't worry, we'll be safe, Els." She took his hand, and guided him to the very corner of the cave, and motioned for him to sit.

"Hey, thanks... but now you." Elsword's scarlet eyes softened.

"I know, I know." Aisha huffed irritably, her mouth in a small pout of annoyance, before resuming her spell chanting. Soon enough, she was invisible just like Elsword. They held their breaths in anticipation, battling each other for more personal space. They squabbled like an old married couple. _The invisibility spell is useless now with how loud they are shouting..._

"Hey! What about us!" I heard the whiney voice of Chung, waving his arms around, making an attempt to slap the invisible couple.

"Eh, beats me. Not our problem." I couldn't see them, but I had a feeling that the two had a bored, clueless expression written all over their faces. Shoulder blade's shrugging into an "I dunno, that's your problem," stance.

"NO! AFTER WE JUST KILLED WALLY, WE'RE GOING TO DIE EVEEE. WAHHH!" Tears pricked at his eyes as he sat in a corner, wallowing in his own endless abyss of sorrow and pity. I could almost see his soul escaping from his mouth. Chung grabbed my arm, rubbing his waterfall of cascading tears all over my elbow. Wow, his dramatic acting skills are very impressive.

"Um...Chung?"

I granted the rest of our team a favor, and did what I did best. By slapping the hell outta him. Honestly, I do not have the time of day for this, even for Chung. I was about to start, when the blonde haired elf cut me off with an I'm-going-to-shout-at-you-in-a-scolding-motherly-w ay pep talk. But, something was wrong about Rena. Something TERRIBLY wrong. I heard some sort of trigger go off.

"Listen. Sitting in a shit load of pity is not going to make you feel any better about our situation right now. Get up, and be a MAN, like Raven! Even Eve is tired of this BULL. Stop feeling SORRY for yourself, and grow a pair! You think this is FUNNY? The Nasods are marching into this cave, we need to hide, and you're just sitting there, ready to DIE a virgin! Has your REALITY CHECK snapped? I do not know, has yours? Are you aware of what is happening RIGHT THIS MOMENT? Stop crying RIGHT NOW, or die! Get a cup, fill it up with water, get a lid, and SHUT THE FULLCUP!"

_Motherly talk? Perhaps not._

"Hehehe... shut the fullcup. I see what you did there Rena. I'ma use that one." Elsword replied in a jolly tone.

Yes. Elsword and Chung are going to die before the Nasods get the chance to. A sinister, eerie aura surrounded Rena, swallowing the last bits of her rational, cheerful self. I edged as far away as possible from her, taken aback by her satanic mode. Rena clenched her fist, cracking her knuckles. A sickening snap sound could be heard, and I could not determine whether it was her knuckles that produced that sound, or her last strand of sanity. She balled her palm and slammed it into her other open one, creating a small shockwave.

"That's my girl." Raven commented plainly, enjoying the show.

Chung stifled a girl scream, holding back his shrieks of terror, but he remained in the same spot he was standing, for the fear that Rena might kill him if he made an attempt for a mad dash escape. Elsword is relatively safe, seeing as to the fact that he is invisible. But Chung, hm, hard to tell, he might die. Rena finally went in for the kill, gripping Chung by his Pikachu ears. He yelped in fear, not much pain, as to the fact that the fear had grown so great, that it had a numbing effect on the rest of his senses. She lifted him high in the air, dangling him by the throat in the process.

"Rena, that is eno-"

_Too late._

(Chung's POV)

With one mighty swing, she spun me into a three-sixty, then let go at the precise moment. I sailed through the air at the approximate speed of sound, my face a blur. Then, I slammed into the wall with a sickening crack. However, it wasn't the crack of his bones I heard, but of what was behind me. CRACK* The rock wall gave way in enormous chunks, falling to the floor. My body slid down the wall, resting on the uncomfortable ground, my head tilted down. They couldn't read my expression. Will he cry more? Is he dead? Those kinds of "uplifting" thoughts entered their minds.

"Hahaha..." My voice came out as a deep, creepy chuckle that I wasn't sure I was capable of making up until now. I laughed and laughed, my head still hung low as I watched their facial expressions._ They all looked horrified!_

"HAHAHA! The look on your faces when I started laughing. Oh my god... I'm dying! But look, it worked, my plan that is, all thanks to Rena acting insanely evil. Good thing I upgraded my armor today, if not, I probably wouldn't have survived that." I wiped the tears from laughing too hard away, then pointed to a perfectly shaped barrier from the stone.

"It wasn't was roomy as I had hoped, but look! It's the perfect hiding spot for at least two people. The two people being Eve and I, of course." I commented nonchalantly, observing Rena's handiwork.

(Eve's POV)

"What an ingenious plan," I replied incredulously.

He smiled and took hold of my hand, guiding me towards the barrier created ever so nicely by Rena's Rage. He's smarter than I give himself credit for... But-

"Chung, even though that plan worked effectively, please do not go around acting dramatic and taunting others. You could have been gravely injured from that without your armor. Besides, you do not know what Rena is capable of in her Satanic Mode.-

"HEY!" Rena protested, but I continued.

"So just please do not give me another system malfunction. I worry about you."

"I promise I'll try my best. I worry even more about you, after all I love you."

Then he took me by surprise while I was still stunned by his words and pressed his lips against my forehead, kissing it gently and tenderly, then caressed my cheek, holding me close ever so tightly, while whispering sweet words into my ear. My body relaxed, instantly soothed and calm serenity overcame me, but my face flushed a deep, deep crimson, rivalling that of Elsword's hair before he dragged me into the barrier, and hugged me close. _Cheesy..._

Raven whistled while Rena seemed to snap back into her normal cheery self, squealing from Chung's actions and whispering something like: Cheve!". Elsword glanced with a disgusted face, and Aisha shot an "I knew it!" face. While I just sat there with my famous: pokerface.

I summoned a triangular-shaped barrier of light in front of our own barrier in the process, gaining enough energy to finally cast something. It was a transparent colour, clear as glass, but sturdy enough to withstand several bullets, plasma, fire, and especially electricity. I tweaked the shield of light while Chung watched in interest.

"What's that?" He whispered in a low voice, crouching down towards the reflection shield.

"Ah, yes, well, do you know of those barriers I conjure whenever I summon, say, a Particle Ray or Giga Stream? Well, it also happens to deflect many damaging projectiles. This one is especially unique. It blends in with the rest of our environment, similar to an invisible shield by reflecting any amount of light and manipulating it to how the user pleases. Just to ensure our safety."

Then, we heard footsteps. Many, many footsteps. Footsteps of a large cluster of soldiers, ready to march in and own the place. The loud chorus of heavy boots hitting against the ground was similar to a stampede of animals, or the quake of rumbling thunder. Wild, and hardly in sync. Loud, course sounding shouts echoed throughout the cave, shouting of orders and commands being given in the frenzy. Among them were also the beeps and metallic sounds of the Nasods. Perhaps it is the mercenary and bandits crew, the Black Crows, but I could not be so sure of it. It was only a hunch.

Being the quick-witted elf she was, Rena whispered a silent spell. Wind swirled around her, a gentle draft. She lifted her hands up, and in doing so, the wind lifted her up as well. They supported her feet, the wind pressurizing as a make-shift platform of wind.

"Care to join me?" Rena grinned, outstretching her hand towards Raven.

"Of course."

She heaved him up off of the ground, testing the limits of her wind powers. The platform seemed to hold both of their body weights, lifting them high up to the ceiling of the cave. Just as they were lifted into the air, the soldiers marched in. Rena prayed that they would not look up. My hunch was correct, they were the Black Crows. I heard a loud, thunderous voice.

"Who destroyed the Nasod Miners?! Where is Wally?"

Another baritone voice replied, "Wally, is dead."

Murmurs escaped the Black Crow's lips.

"Search the area for whoever caused this, NOW!"

The members scrambled about, panicked by the news. _Apparently, Wally dying was not a part of their original plan. Now I know, Wally was going to be transported to another area through their Cargo Airship, for whatever reason, I do not know yet, but it cannot be a good thing._ I held my breath as several Crows stopped right in front of our magical light shield. Chung and I could clearly see them, barbaric, fierce brutes that is, but they could not see us due to the special barrier. I watched with curiosity as I saw the men with dark, dull badges with the name Black Crows etched deeply into them. All the soldiers were well armed with either a gun, or an electrocuting executioner's spear. The lower ranks had tasers and knives it seemed, but they all brandished mysterious, disturbing masks, much like gas masks. Our eyes followed them, but not one twitch of the muscle.

"Clear over hear." I heard an officer say near our area.

Raven hugged Rena close to his chest while she chanted away, trying to focus on her gift of wind. One glance upwards, and we were all done for. But, the soldiers seemed to only scan the field before them, instead of the ceiling. Elsword and Aisha seemed to be hunched in the corner, taking minimal space.

"Whoever it was, they must've left. C'mon. Let's go back to the Cargo Airship. Wally might still have the item we're looking for."

One by one, as soon as they arrived, they piled themselves out of the cavern, with us in close pursuit. Little did they know about our presence. I granted an invisibility cloak to Chung and I as we slinked around among the rocks. We all stayed together, with Rena and Raven still airborne. Soon, we met the outside of the mines. I squinted into the distance, the dark was creeping up slowly onto the moon, creating a fiery orange and dull yellow colour, but the Sun peaked over the hills, a sliver of its brilliant bright radiance still present. _Sunset is approaching, and that means we have to stay on guard._

Sure enough, An enormous airship loomed over us, waiting on standby for further instruction. It was a deep blue, with yellow and red, similar to Wally's colours. Cannons and all sorts of ship weaponry was displayed here, incase they did find us intruders. _Must be a new ship then._ Heavy combat boots hit against the cold metal, like heavy droplets of rain hitting against a metal window pane. We slid in on the farthest side of the ship, and hopped on a rail right near the engine, close enough and sturdy enough so that we would all fit and not fall, but far enough from the propellers and such that we would not get shredded to pieces. With the soldiers gone, we slid down the cool sides of the ship, relieved, but still ready. The ship whirred steadily, we were only slightly buffeted by the churning wind.

"Let's just see where this ship is heading towards. But, I am a bit curious on what Wally was holding. What item?" Raven commented, glancing at the skies above.

"Yeah, it seemed to be an extremely important key to their success, Eve. It's not Wally that's important, but what Wally has..."

"I do not know yet. We need something to get leads on this. But, the other details, it's much clearer now. Wally rose to power and ruled. Why? Because the mercenaries including the Black Crows caused havoc amongst Elrios. Seeing this, the villagers had no one to seek for help and be guarded by. Wally took this to its advantage, offering to be King. With no one else to turn to, some cities, villages, and towns reluctantly agreed, giving Wally more power and access over industry lines to create Nasods, money, and especially power while I was still in deep slumber. Wally was given an army. Soldiers. But those soldiers were actually the mercenaries and Black Crows. Wally was working with them, giving them money to become an army. The vast amount of soldiers were used as some sort of barrier and disruptance to keep all citizens unaware of their doing. They did nothing to stop the problems, and noone could protest against them because they had the authority and power to kill whoever opposes Wally. With all the corruption, the towns were to busy seeking help, not thinking of the greater problems at hand since they did not know what was going on. It grew into a huge chain." _Seems like Wally is smarter than I had let on..._

"That makes sense! But why would Wally want to build all those Nasods, yeah, power, but I think that there's a bigger reason and goal behind this," Aisha added.

"It is... It's...King Nasod. Wally most likely wanted to revive King Nasod. That's what the item was all about. King Nasod is not fully functional yet. He has gone corrupt...not that he was not corrupt before...but, I am positive of it. He wants to continue the war between the Nasods and Humans. With all of these Nasods being made, they will overwhelm the humans and will bring us all down into the rubble. He will obliterate us all, and only Nasods will remain standing. Wally most likely has an item that will revive King Nasod once more. I am sorry. Please forgive me, if I had thought of this before, I could have prevented this, I cannot believe how much of an idiot I am! Failure Que-"

"Stop, just stop. Remember you were cheering us on back there when we were sure Wally was going to destroy us? You're not a failure, it couldn't have been helped. You were asleep for centuries while all of this happened. You don't need to feel sorry, or worthless, because you are our teammate and friend. It's amazing that you even figured out their plan while we're clueless. Now that we have a better idea on their plan, we can stop King Nasod from reviving. And if he does, well, I'll pound his face in for you by making you feel like a failed Queen! We're going to get that item back from Wally, and stop King Nasod from reviving!" Elsword looked straight into my eyes, his ruby-red ones shining with determination and courage.

"That's right, Els! Well said. Thank god you didn't say something stupid!" Aisha scoffed.

"Yeah, there's no need to be upset or angry! We're here for you. When I get my hands on that King Nasod...I'll..." Renaa clenched her fist, muttering what seemed like ancient elven curse words.

"We all love you, Eve! Especially me."Chung chuckled.

"Mhm." Raven added, but I knew that he cared for us. It was just his personality.

They didn't even have to have me say it, but my look gave off the simple, but powerful words, _...Thank you._

"Well, well, well...Look who we have here. A few rats onboard our ship."

We froze. Unable to say a word. _Damn! I thought for sure that we had not been detected..._ I narrowed my eyes, leveling them with the strange masked man. I had the urge to rip it off of his face, but something held me back. I knew that he was a strong opponent. I glared at him the same way as I did with Raven when I first met him, but it did not have the desired effect I was looking for.

"Rats? Please, You. And the rest of these Black Crows. Are the huge infestation of. Disgusting, Revolting-"

I felt a sting on my cheek. The pain surprised me, rasing my palm to my now swollen cheek. I noticed huge, thick claw marks._ He- he slapped me..!_

"YOU!" Chung charged recklessly at him, Raven was unable to stop him. He quickly took out his Silver Shooter and shot the man straight in the middle of his mask. It did not leave a dent, but it surprised the strange man enough for Chung to retrieve me.

"You okay?" He questioned, caressing my cheek, his blue eyes wide with worry.

"I-I am fine." I shook off the slight pain, wiping the blood from my cheek.

I spat at the man, then launched an Electron Ball at his face, but that pesky armour of his kept him protected. Tch. The man wiped the spit off of his mask, I could not read his facial expression, but he was furious. He lunged for Chung and Aisha, grabbing them by the hair with his iron grip, and dragged him away from us.

"Chung! Aisha!"

_Why do hostages keep occurring?!_ We raced forward.

"Take one step closer, and pretty boy and flat chest die."

"Tahnks, I know, I'm prettier than you. At least I'm not horrendously ugly like you. I mean, why else would you be wearing that ratchet mask?" A/N: Yep totally went there. Ratchet has now been used in Elsword.

"Flat chest?! Who you calling flat-chest? BUB! I'ma freakin' poison you and watch as the cloud burns your lungs and causes your bones to disintegrate, you !" Aisha screamed sadistically.

_I think she got it from Rena..._ The man roared with anger, aiming a blade dangerously close to their throats.

"Fine. I'll kill you both right now, you stupid brats. Then, I'll kill your friends too. You're all just a bunch of talk."

Aisha sighed exasperated, before muttering something under her breath.

"Dark Cloud..."

A toxic cloud emitted from Aisha's staff and into the man. We all held our breaths, knowing the outcome of that deadly dark magic, but it did not seem to effect uf, but only the man. He hacked and coughed, his lungs burning. I watched as he slowly contorted, to my horror. His spine dissolved like a sugar cube in hot water as he screamed in agony.

"What? You think I was kidding? You can't handle this!"

With one slam of her staff to the man, he grew silent. We watched, our mouths agape as wide as a fish, truly frightened.

"That... was dark magic, wasn't it? I saw you use it recently, but, this is too brutal. Why did you hide this from us?" Elsword said bitterly.

"I know, I know. I kept it a secret from you guys... I just, wanted to grow stronger and try to help you guys, okay? You were all strong, and I was weak, so I wanted to try the strongest magic there is, dark magic. I knew you guys would get angry, but, it's fine! It said that a person with a personality like me wasn't likely of getting influenced by evil, so..."

"Don't say that you're the weak link. Because you're not. I remember when we were fighting awhile back. You are the strongest mage I know, Aisha. That was a really awesome fight, don't think any other way. I'm just angry you kept it a secret from us. But, I'm kinda glad that you didn't turn evil on us. I don't know what I would do. I mean, you're already fierce and hitting me on the head all the time as it is, imagine if you were even more evil... ouch... And, I like you just the way you are. ...ugh, that sounded cheesy, just- yeah."

Aisha laughed, "Thanks Els, and of course al of you. You're not too bad yourself, you know. I might not hate you anymore, and maybee might not hit you as much anymore. I actually like you, I mean... ugh! Whatever..." She confessed blushing, looking back at Rena to see if she would tease her. But she didn't. Rena was acting serious at the moment.

"Oh, how heart warming, too bad you're all going to die too."

Unable to move, the strange man pushed us all over the ship. I staggered, trying to gain my balance, but in the process though, I grabbed and tore his mask off, revealing a small bit of his face.

"Crow...Rider..?" I thought I heard Raven whisper before he plummeted downwards.

I struggled against gravity, but flew out from the forces of the gust with ease, being tossed like flimsy paper in the wind. _Well, this would be a stupid way to die._ I plummeted, cutting through the air like a bullet, momentarily stunned and astonished, before gaining my senses and instinctively spreading my arms and tried to level myself. It was working. My fall slowed gradually, but still at a dangerously alarming rate. Only the sound of wind reverberated into the air as if a hoard of hummingbirds were chirping into my ear. There was not even a chance to scream.

I shut my eyes and mouth, trying to think of possible ways of survival. I persisted, I don't want to die quite yet. _Not yet..!_ Rena struggled against the wind. She seemed fine, not even the most savage of winds could oppose her, but she was having difficulty to have the wind support all of us, and it just came out as a demonic coaster ride. _Up...down...up...down..._ It was not doing my stomach any favors. Aisha and Elsword tried to use their knowledge in magic to manipulate wind, but it caused little success. If we did not think fast, we would splat to the ground below.

Chung tackled me, holding me close as if his presence would clear my mind. He looked straight into my eyes with his sky blue ones, then brushed his soft lips against mine, smiling in doing so. He kissed me there his eyes now closed, the wind still howling in our ears. I embraced him, fully accepting the intimate action of kissing. He only did this once before, in Shadow Forest, was it? _That was where I realized, I did have emotions. The first one discovered, being love. _

_It was an amazing experience, and made my heart thud in my chest. That energized feeling. And just like that, I did not care. Nothing else mattered. It seemed to be just the two of us in that given moment. And it was as if we were never ever going to fall as long as we were together..._ _Error... system malfunction. Emotion overload..!_

Suddenly, everything froze. _What is happening?_ Wings sprouted from my back, a blinding sparkling light of electrons. The electricity and El surged from my back and shoulder blades, then traveled to the entirety of my body. I looked at the wings to see that they were more like streaks of lightning, thin, but strong like the branches of a gnarled tree. Or like the cracks of ice wedged into a crevice. They traveled across my back, marking it an azure-whitish colour. With an impressive wingspan, enough to uplift many, my heart, core beated at a fast, erratic pace.

_It was truly exhilarating._ The power limit soared through my core, reconstructing it completely. _Thump* Thump.*_ I raised a hand to my chest and heard the loud, strong beat of my heart. _I feel like an angel... what exactly is this?_

**Me: Done! Yeah, finished another long chapter! I feel so accomplished. I hope there aren't many things I left off, or if it isn't descriptive or rushed in some parts, but I really wanted to finish today! I tried to add in more meaningful and also funny in some parts of dialogue, because my story is kind of lacking in that aspect, so I hoped you like that, and the many twists this story has to offer. I like this chapter, I'm proud of it! Please give me some suggestions and reviews. My goal is to get 40 reviews by the end of this story, and it would be awesome to get some nice reviews and accomplish that goal! Thank you for reading! Until next time!~**


	26. Chapter 26

(Eve's POV)

The wind whistling in my ears seemed to suppress in a matter of seconds, the wild thudding in the cage of my ribs, and my love pressing my body close to his, our lips locked tightly together as if the threads of our life depended on it. His gorgeous cerulean eyes gazed into mine, intensely, but with gentle intent. Chung pressed my cheek into his palm, admiring the strange markings I brandished. He moved away from my lips, I grazed them with my fingertips, as if confirming the pleasure was indeed not a dream, but reality. I fixated my gaze to his mouth, which turned up into a natural and subtle smile. Longingly, I stared, wishing we could continue kissing.

I bit the corner of my lip,_ Refrain from overloading Eve... you do not know what the outcome will be. You do not know what the side-effects of love are. Keep calm and collected, surely, the feeling will eventually subside, and become enjoyable... Relax and feel immersed, not suffocated..._ I looked longingly into Chung's eyes in an almost desperate and pleading way. He brushed his lips to the gem on my forehead. The jewel responded immediately, it lustered more brilliantly than ever before, reflecting my emotions similar to a mood ring.

His entire face was flushed crimson, even more noticeable given how pale and fair his skin colour was. The bold action was supposedly meant to calm me down, but it was driving me to near insanity. My hands instinctively rose, and twirled them around his soft blond hair, as I went in for another kiss. Surprised at my boldness, his eyes widened, before he twirled a lock of my own silvery hair and returned the kiss with enthusiasm. I hadn't taken attention before, but his breath smelled of strawberries and cream, it was almost a sweet addiction, just like the fine pastries and desserts of petit fors, light, subtle, and delicious. I nibbled at his lips for more to which he just smirked and gave me what I requested. Let it be an emotional overload... this is much too satisfying and worth the consequences. I shall deal with them later._ Right now... I do not even care anymore. Let it be._

I yelped as I suddenly was lifted higher into the air. I shifted to look at my shoulders to see that my electron wings were finally unfurled, stretched horizontally to display its full length and beauty. The veins of my wings were multichromatic, shifting colour schemes constantly. It is as if my wings has a heart of its own. Confirming that, my heartbeat thudded, the blood traveling from my core, to the tips of the electrons, flashing a blinding light ever so often. _Now I can finally save the others and repay them..._ I elegantly swooped down into an arc, rejoining Chung in the process.

I intertwined my fingers with his and grasped tightly, then heaved my wings downward with one gust, sending us harshly upwards._ My aviation skills are quite rusty... I might not last in this state for long._ With haste, I moved my shoulder blades, causing us to stay aloft, but in a very unnatural and clumsy way. I hissed in pain. The simple up and down motion did not seem like the proper way to fly with wings like these. Thinking quickly, I made an attempt to "go with the flow" as some people say.

I let the roaring wind catch me, but to my surprise, it immediately cradled me, supporting my wings fully. They snapped open, catching the wind like a parachute, and soon enough, I was riding the wind with little to no effort at all. So, as soon as I catch the right draft, my gliding abilities increase considerably... Flaring photons emitted from my legs and wings, like blueish white fire._ The gentle pace is satisfactory, but I need more..._ As if having a mind of its own, my wings spread out fully, then angled themselves to a tilt. I banked sharply, but fully in control as I accelerated in speed towards Rena. Chung's mouth opened to an awestruck, stupid grin similar to a dog sticking its tongue out of a window inside of a vehicle.

"Amazing..."

He spat out an incoming leaf, not even flinching. Perhaps he is frozen in shock by my fabulousness. Poor thing.

"No need to worry about us now, Rena, we have lightened the burden. Instead, focus on the winds power to support Raven, Elsword, and Aisha."

Se smiled with tired eyes, "Thank the Lady of El..."

Suppressing the force of the wind, she created a medium-sized invisible platform of air, to which Raven, Elsword, and Aisha safely landed on. The now tame wind obediently lowered itself slowly, but surely towards the ground. I gracefully banked , searching for a suitable area to land. With my heightened senses, my systems allowed my eyes to zoom forward to an image like an optical lens, successfully spotting a dirt clearing amidst the thick woods.

"Please get ready for landing."

Chung held my hand tighter so that he wouldn't shoot right off. Moby and Remy practically glued themselves to him, ensuring his safety. I angled my wings upwards, instinctively, the flying/gliding mode cancelled itself out, no longer

emitting photons. Factors of drag and gravity pulled me downwards smoothly. Wow, its like ziplining on my way down. But without the burden of heavy gear and a harness. I stood upright, my legs dangling to further increase drag. At last I touched the floor with a soft thud. Finally, ground level. I did not die. I saved everyone.

"Thank you for flying with us at Eve Energetic Heart Airlines. Please come again."

Catching their breath, the Elteam stared at me, their jaws agape like a dying carp. I flicked my hair.

"I can finally be of use to you all. Energetic Heart, was it? It was a wonderful experience."

I rambled on, yet they still kept their eyes fixed on me, Chung especially had a huge blush on his face, whereas Rena and Aisha stared wistfully in... envy? _What?_ Rena tapped my shoulder, gesturing to her blade, Erendil. Wordlessly, I unsheathed it to look at my reflection and gasped, the dagger twitching in my hand to the point that I dropped it, allowing the sacred weapon to clatter to the ground. I saw a beautiful, tall young woman with thick, silvery, luscious locks. A generous chunk of hair served as bangs, stopping right above her striking eyes. Her V-shaped straight hair was an eternal waterfall of cascading silver, simply mesmerizing, the length draping down to her heels with cute slightly curled ends. Her outfit was a perfect balance of striking colours, pink, black, white, and blue. A choker was snuggly wrapped on her neck, going down her shoulders and arms were puffy long sleeves with frills at the tips. The girls dress was more like a tight bathing suit, embarrassingly low at the chest, not quite practical, but elegant nevertheless with peculiar solid black, spiky guards resting securely around her hips and thighs down to her legs. Mid-thigh cream coloured boots completed the gorgeous outfit, adorned generously with gems. But what caught my attention the most was a tiara of some sort made from El and light energy, jutting with diamond-shaped energy._ That beautiful woman, to my astonishment, was myself._

"Eve, you look... beautiful..." Chung whispered into my ear.

"Is that, s- s..."

My eyelids fluttered, before my legs decided to stop functioning. I went down on my knees, then I collapsed. Chung gingerly picked me up from the floor, their voices were all a faint blur, _so distant... What is going on? Is it fatigue? Just a moment ago, though, I was filled with energy._ Hanging on to my last thread of consciousness, the last thing I heard and felt was a warm hand pressed onto my face.

"It's going to be alright."

When I slipped away.

* * *

"Ugh... what the..? What is this?"

I got up, but needles of pain shot up my legs. I whimpered, slowly sinking down once more. _Okay, Eve. Analyze your surroundings._ I sat up weakly, only to find things completely shrouded in darkness. It was as if my eyes were already closed, or blinded. I blinked, rubbing the drowsiness from my eyes, but the surroundings remained the same. My legs mustered up the strength to walk. All I could hear was the clacking of my footsteps against an unseen pavement. Disturbed, I went on, but it was as if I was walking in place, no sense of direction, no sense of security. I hate this. After a few minutes, I came to the conclusion that I was trapped inside my mind. I just want to get out of here! Giving up on trying to walk my way out, I sat down to conserve energy. My mind naturally drifted off, bringing about the richest of fantasies. Chung, kissing me ever so passionately, it made my face burn just thinking about it. My once weak state shifted int one tranquil and serene.

"Ha!"

I whipped around, standing up warily. The sudden sound of laughter ringing in my ears. It was like a single crow, taunting me, laughing its heart out. The sickening laughter grew louder, More like a vulture at this point.

"I demand that you show yourself coward!"

I turned around, only to have a stinging sensation on my face. The blow was so strong, that I had spun forward, my face burned like fire, and I was sure that my face was now a bright red. I touched my face, but I could not even see my palms due to the thick, dreaded darkness. _Was I just... slapped?!_

"Photon Flare!"

The 'room' was illuminated for one full second, I managed to make something out. A person?! I summoned a photon again, but it was cancelled out. My abilities do not work... I looked harder, but the flares effects were already being eaten away. It faded completely, once more pitch-black. Alone. In the darkness. With a possibly dangerous stranger. Of course, loneliness was a major cause of insanity, but so was being in the darkness with a possible enemy that you couldn't see. The giggling grew louder, _this is irritating._

"Shut the hell up, idiotic stranger. I do not know what your intention is, but I must get out of here, Cease your giggling!"

"Oh? What vulgar language coming from th Queen of Nasods, Eve. Dont tell me that those friends of yours caused you to have such a dirty mouth?" The unseen force slapped my mouth, and I could have sworn that It had almost dislocated my jaw.

"What do you want from me?!"

"Oh, nothing really. I just find you interesting. Let us converse. Have a little chat."

I backed up, narrowing my eyes, "Do I need to repeat myself? I have no business with you."

"You want to escape, do you not?"

I could not tell, but I was positive that whoever it was had a broad grin on their face. My features hardened as I gulped, calming myself down.

"I do... what does that have to do with you?"

"Everything, really. I am the key to your escape. So heed my words. Let us sit down, and if you are willing to be an obedient girl and follow, of course, you may leave."

"What is this? Obey? You obey me, scum."

"Dense. Fighting back so rudely when all I want is small talk? I have been hitting you directly. I can see you, you cannot see me. Is it really wise to loudmouth me when you are in such a vulnerable condition?

A force of electricity blasted me back, I skidded across the invisible ground. More laughter erupted as I groaned, too weak to get up. My lower lipped quivered._ I will escape this hell hole that for some reason, is my mind. Something like this happened to Raven. I could be unconscious for at least a day, I cannot possibly afford to lose when King Nasod is this close to resurrection. Fine. I will accept, I just need to play my cards right, and for this person, it will be Game Over._

"So be it. Let us talk. But I have a few questions and requests that I would like you to answer."

"Speak."

"First off, what do you really want from me? Who are you? How did you get in here? Lastly, show yourself.

"I cannot answer the first question, perhaps later. As for the second and third ones. I am virus XEMOTIONS, currently in Nasod form. I got into your mind and systems through WALLYNo.8 when your core was exposed."

The scenery shifted, and I, we* were back at Richie Mine. Finally, I got to see who this person looked like, as a virus. What I saw, I wish I could unsee, but like what they say, you cannot unsee what you have seen. It was irreversible. A beautiful tall, young woman with thick, silvery luscious locks. A reflection of myself. A clone, faux Eve. She was eye-catching, but completely cold with a venomous gaze in those eyes of hers. They did not even have pupils. My outfit was replicated perfectly, but there was one important thing missing. The tiara and the ElStones.

"You're missing something, XEmotions."

"Oh? The tacky crown and jewels? Yes, I, for some reason, could not replicate it."

"Because you're a fake, a nobody who has stooped so low as a virus to become a mirror image of someone and trapped them in their mind. They do not belong to you, because you are not fit or worthy. It cannot be replicated, whereas you are a clone. "

I half expected that she would destroy me, but she continued talking, ignoring my comeback, "Let us get down to business, shall we? My patience is thinning, we are on thin ice now, so I might as well stop stalling and tell you my true intention, I summoned you here for a reason. My mission by Wally, to rid of you. It is much, much, too dangerous to go out there to eliminate you, so I trapped you in your own mind, because I can. By doing so, I have grown quite weak, but so are you. We are on even terms, you cannot use your abilities, I plan to change that."

"Wrong. Mentally, I am stronger, and physically as well, I can throw a few bitchslaps before collapsing. Fool. You cannot be me and you cannot get rid of me."

"Let me test that theory. I was going to let you escape, but now I change my mind, I will crush your mentality until you beg for mercy. I can hurt you severly with verbal abuse. I also have access to your weaknesses and memories now. Fool."

* * *

I was back with kissing Chung. _What is this virus up to? I must get ready, for the worst._ He kissed me with passion, looking me straight in the eyes with his honest ones, filled with pure love, but what I felt was not ecstacy, or any positive effects for that matter. _If this is what love is really like, I do not think I want it... This is an Emotional Overload, so why bother taking the risk? What am I thinking?!_

_ It is that scheming XEmotions. She was not joking about crushing me through my weaknesses, she is dead on._ It was a mix of sharply contrasting emotions that seemed to swallow me up._ Swallow me up...? The fire._ My vision transitioned to a familiar place. I shut my eyes in desperation, but when I opened them, the scene remained. I froze into place.

_The fire.._. the sickening scent of flesh, burning, and damnation entering my nostrils. Sharp cries, pushing me to move on, look away from the freshly killed corpses with sharp weapons protruding their bodies like pincushions. War yells, and the unmistakable sound of metal clashing together. It was all so real. Oberon and Ophelia were knocked out cold with a brutal bash to the heads, I rushed to my chamber, assuming fetal position. Hot, streamy tears danced down my cheeks, the weight of sorrow like a rope around my neck, suffocating me slowly ike that damned fire. I wiped the tears away, taking shaky, shallow breaths.

"This is just an illusion!"

"But it did happen, did it not, poor Eve?"

"I got over it!"

"Oh, did you? Then now, you should be rather calm."

"Why?! How could I be calm, this was one of my WORST NIGHTMARES, Bitch. And you decide to bring it out?"

Getting riled up, are we? Looks like I really did find your weaknesses. Look around at the wonderful devastation. Look at it straight in the eye. Oh, wait, you cannot. You are afraid of your past. That is why you will fail in resurrecting your kingdom. Face it, if you cannot get over your sour memories, you cannot rebuild your haven and race. Emotions make you weak. Allow me to completely destroy them, and I will let you leave with only faint emotional scars."

"I will overcome it, and prove to you that I am no longer afraid if that will satisfy you. I am no longer weak emotions have made me stronger, strong enough to accomplish my goal to revive my race."

"Hmph. I have not tortured you enough. Let me fix that."

* * *

I was with Chung again, deep in a forest. He stopped kissing me. He looked at me intensely, it was as if he was searing a hole into my skull. Chung's expression looked disappointed and disgusted. He harshly pushed me to the floor, looking down at me with disdain. It looked as if he wanted to truly kill me. She is just playing around with my mind, do not let it get to you. However, my face told otherwise. Tears were already beginning to form at my tearducts.

"I hate you Eve."

"Wow, XEmotions. You cannot even capture Chung's traits properly? He would not even act like that. He is much too sweet and nice, he loves me. I know it. Besides, if he was mad, he would not say that."

"Let me fix that too." XEmotions grinned.

"Remember when I told you that I would protect you? I'd rather you die. You've been pulling down our team for much too long Eve. Don't you think now's the time you just eat your pride and go choke on it? You treated us like trash. I knew it all along, your true intentions and nature, but just went with everyone so that I wouldn't become one of your slaves, or worse, puppet, once you stopped loving me and threw me away like a used toy. Tugging on the strings of my heart like that?

Never in my life, have I even fallen for you once. It was all a façade so that I wouldn't be used. What you said in Shadow Forest? You have me and I have you? I couldn't believe that for a second. You have yourself, with people to step on so you wouldn't fall into hell. Well guess what? I'm one less pawn you can no longer control. One less stepping stone to the throne, and that's all it takes for you to fall into that hell hole along with the rest of your race. Nasods. They all should've died. But no, you caused a war and couldn't even stop it. My creed is that no innocent human will get hurt under my watch. You aren't even human, you're a Nasod. Now, Nasods have been killing many innocent lives and that's just unforgivable."

"This is for ruining my friends! And ruining MY LIFE!"

Chung went up and pushed me, then, with one swing of his arm, his knuckles connected with my face, grinding them into my jaw. I staggered. _This is just an illusion.. but I can feel the pain, not just physical, but the emotional pain. So much pain..._ Swing after swing, flashes of his hands hit me over and over, it was just a blur. I opened my mouth only to have vermilion blood leak out of my crimson lips.

Tears streamed down, messily washing away the blood. Cuts, scars, and bruises of all colors were all over my frail body. My hair became matted with knots, covering my pathetic tear-stained face. He continued to torment me, shouting directly in my ear, louder and louder of his troubles. There was no trace of mercy. I sank to the floor, when he started to kick my face. I desperately tried to negate some damage by curling up and enduring the pain, but it did not make things any less agonizing.

He kicked my spine over and over, I could feel it give way little by little._Chung would not do this. Then again, how would I know? I have never seen him angry at me. Never seen him angry at me... because... I know he loves me. You can take this Eve! And much more. He would never be cruel to anybody. Not even to the demons who took his father away. It is all XEmotions. If I win and succeed over er, I can leave without her "help." It is my own mind after all, I am in control. I cannot reason with him, because this is not real, but I can try to overpower XEmotions. _The pain faded away into a light, numb feeling. Chung, noticing this lifted me up by the hair. Wordlessly, I bit my lips in order to stop shrieking.

"Does this hurt? Well you hurt me a whole lot more."

"Eve, you are a completely utter wreck. Look at those hurt tears, is this what you really want in life, emotions? Look at yourself! They have cause you so much pain, that they have scarred you for life. So, I will ask you one more time, lend your emotions to me... you will be doing yourself a huge favor. Also, you will be permitted to leave. Is that not a promising proposal. Think about it." She looked at me with fake sympathy and understanding! but also with maliciousness and triumph.

His eyes dark with murderous intent, he lifted me high into the air by my choker, cutting off all connections with air. I choked, my feet dangling. He was about the same height now, but his strength was immense, I could not possibly do anything but endure it. He raked his hands through my hair, his nails like talons. Chungs touch was cold and unforgiving.

"The real Chung is warm... Warm and loving like when he held my hand before I was knocked unconscious. He said it will be alright, I must put my faith in his words, as a friend, and as my first and only love. That one sentence, it will be alright. I know it will be, because Chung told me. just that alone will keep me fighting until my very last breath. But I assure you, I wont die.

And you will not have my emotions. Because love and my goals is a precious thing worth fighting for. Worth the Emotional Overload. Worth sacrifices. Chung and the rest of the Team is worth it, and no amount of persuasion or torture will get in the way and change my opinion. Emotions are a blessing... you do not have them, do you?

Maybe one day you can experience its many joys in life instead of trying to take those values away from others. You saw my memories, and the kiss. All of them turned me into a much stronger individual. What makes me. That pain, those scars? I will not dare to make the same stupid mistake. Perhaps you long for emotions as well, that is why you are trying to steal them away from me? Well, emotions is something that cannot be stolen from the strong-willed.

As much as I despise you, I too wish you, and all Nasods can learn emotions. Learn how to love and gain friends. Walk your own path, and surely, you will find them. Then you may be able to call yourself Emotions. Just Emotions.

XEmotions grew silent. I knew I was right on target.

Without emotions, I would learn nothing in life. So, I will tell you one last time. I am Eve, Queen of Nasods, and I have emotions. I do not know whether you will be gone by the time I did this, or if you will forever remain in my consciousness, but I will take my leave now, consider what I said, heed my words because it is Game Over for you. Farewell, XEmotions.

* * *

I did not know how I did it, but I closed my eyes once more, XEmotions just staring at me intensely, not with anger, or sadness, but something else altogether that I could not quite understand. Longing..? But when I opened my eyes, I groaned, my vision still very hazy. I could see dots of light dancing around my head, as I got up too quickly. I sat down, waiting for the feeling to subside.

"H-How long, was I, out..?" I pressed my palm feverishly against my forehead.

"Only a few minutes, what happened?" Chung was the first to speak up.

"It was something a bit like Raven's unconscious state when he passed out, I believe."

"Is that so... what did you see?" Raven, slightly interested, joined the crowd of concerned frowns.

I swallowed, "It was extremely dark. I could not see anything through such darkness. I walked, but it seemed that I was traveling into nowhere. Getting nowhere. Seeing nothing, not even my own hands or whatever was holding me below. I tried to use Photon Flare, and saw a figure several yards away from me. It was laughing, a low, disturbing laugh.

Having quite enough of it, I shouted out to the stranger, to find a Nasod. A complete replica of myself, minus the tiara and such. She was cold as ice, with little emotions. The ones she did have were negative. Her voice was persuasive, drawing out each words effectively, but I just wanted to get out. She claimed that she was a virus, XEmotions. Her ambitions were to take them away from me, through, drastic measures, to say the least."

"Did she?!" Chung almost shouted directly into my ear.

I laughed, locking my hands around his neck to bring him close, "..No, she failed. You are much too precious, I simply cannot give away the emotion love. Though, I am sure she is still in my mind, I do not think she will cross us any longer, at least not in a serious manner. I think I changed her perspective of things."

"But she hur-"

"No, no,- I waved my hands around- She is no threat to us any longer, I am positive of it. She just needs to learn, I suppose. Maybe by residing in my mind, she will learn something, the beauty of emotions. And, like all virus' she can be terminated, despite that, I do not think I can. XEmotions is just not worth it, besides, she is a strong virus, not easy to repel. But, she may leave me whenever she choses to do so, which hopefully is when she finds the right path to walk."

"I see. Well, ok, we trust you. Let's get going. We don't have much time until King Nasod revives."

_We wasted much time here, and me going unconscious costed us dearly. I hope we arrive before it's too late..._

**Me: Omg... Have I been slacking off! I planned on updating like, July 1st, but no, I got writer's block, then I had to go on vacation for a few days =_=. It really hurt, being without wifi. I was actually planning the entire story throughout the eight hour car trip which gave me a severe headache. But, here it is! Sorry if you don't like lengthy chapters, but I always think that making them decently long makes up for the fact that I am slow as molasses when it comes to updating. Hope all the sort-of Eveception didn't confuse or anything, I tried to make this real deep and emotional, so tell me how I did. :P. **

**I am going on yet another vacation in four days to Japan! Which means I probably won't be able to update in two weeks at least. NOO! But, hopefully, I will gain inspiration to write from the trip. Also, one more review until I hit forty, whoo! Thank you so much for reading this chapter, and feedback is much appreciated. P.S: In no way did I copy Proto. I just thought of this as a different approach to Eve and her emotions. Originality for the win! That is all^^.**


	27. Chapter 27

(Eve's POV)

Wordlessly, we sprinted through the forest, myself in the front, at my respectful position. Oddly, I knew exactly which path to take, and which direction we were going This distance is a lot longer than I had originally let on... I huffed, but pressed myself further as Moby and Remy gently pushed at my back, showing their full support.

"C-Can't we just teleport there with you, Aisha?" Chung seemed to be fine, but he was directing his gaze towards me.

"I'll need all the energy I can, teleporting all of us is way too exhausting. Carry her bridal-style or something, PikaBoy."

Without hesitation, he swept me off of the ground, and I was now facing him, palm placed on his warm chest. I am so used to this, yet Elsword took a glance at me, then practically grabbed Aisha, and hugged her close, following Chung's example. Oddly, Aisha did not resist at all, only snuggling closer to Elsword and stretching out to get all comfortable. My lip twitched. Raven ran closer to Rena, edging towards her ever so slightly.

"May I..?"

"No, Sweetie. You will get tired, and I'm completely capable of taking care of myself." I heard venom in her words, especially emphasized at the word "Sweetie."

"Awhh!" I heard the Phorus in the background groan in disappointment.

Rena, growing slightly irritated and becoming the nonsensical part of the group, growled like a forest wolf, a dangerous glint in those emerald eyes of hers, perhaps sick with all the romance and ready to tear a body off of someone in pure frustration. With one flick of the wrist, a giant vortex of wind slammed into the poor creatures, as they scattered amiss like the fall leaves in autumn before our path. Disturbed, Raven inched away so that he was not practically breathing down her neck, and settled for a friendly stride right next to her._ I wish I did not have to rely on Chung like Rena can resist Raven. She is a very strong woman._ Feeling slightly guilty at my lack in stamina, I cursed myself for being so frail and delicate like a porcelain doll.

To make matters worse, I soon came to the conclusion that Aisha was about as athletic as me, to my dismay and horror. To be compared to a mages ability strength wise, and actually being on par with it was beyond insulting. The same principle did not apply with Elsword of course, but he was different. My muscled soon relaxed at the familiar scent of strawberries and cream. Almost intoxified by it, I gripped Chung's hair and whiffed it, the scent of the sea, and exotic fruits of his homeland, the beautiful Hamel, which we had not visited yet, unfortunately, would have to wait for anotherntime.

_If, we had another time. No... we will,_ I chided to myself, scolding my negative thoughts. I proceeded to distract myself with stupid questions. _Do I have a scent fetish of some sort for Chung? Must be so... What is it that humans call it..? I have not used that term quite yet... lustful? It sounds unclean, yet I feel that way._

I stole a quick kiss to Chung's peach coloured lips. I brushed his hair with my fingers, then trailed down his earlobe, neck, then chest, stopping abruptly. He growled huskily, returning the light kiss, before chuckling, deeply flushed. _Another time. Now is not the time either._ We passed several good-looking trees, but I suspected that we were not lost. I knew the way, although centuries had passed, the geography of Altera was the only thing that I could familiarize with.

The Landmarks as well. Then, I saw something, and it was confirmed. A large, bronze and steel statue of Kind Nasod himself, sculpted to absolute perfection in detail at one point, but due to the harsh winds, water, and sand of erosion, was left slightly less realistic. _Finally, a landmark of the Old Era._ I let myself out of Chung's grasp to analyze the statue. It was an impressive 20 feet. King Nasod was much, much, more of a giant than 20 feet.

"Hey Eve, while we're getting there, can you tell us about your time in Altera?"

I nodded slightly, wondering where to start first, when it hit me. A sad smile appeared on my face. " I remembered it as if it was yesterday. King Nasod had become the premier of the Nasod Council, in order to commemorate his accomplishment, They erected a statue out of the Earth of epic proportions.

As for our geography, Our kingdom was constantly growing back then. Slowly, but surely. There we were, inhabiting a small floating island all to ourselves, situated in the middle of the entire Elrios continent. Despite the fact that a levitating island would be an enormously obvious thing to spot, Altera proved otherwise. Anything around Altera was also pulled towards it, like a magnet, such as clouds, mist, anything in the sky. As a result, our small to medium-sized island was constantly enshrouded in the visible mass of condensed water vapor wrapped as securely around it as a thick, white, blanket. Of course, even then, we were tight on security.

A nice, electrocuting field to knock any ships that came to close for comfort, our loyal guardians Ignus and Leviathan. Even so, the members of the Council decided that we somehow needed more security. I rolled my eyes at the thought, resting my chin on the palm of my hand. I supressed a yawn at the quiet comments of the higher ups. It had already passed four hours.

"How could we possibly need more protection, if we cannot be seen in the first place. I for one, would like to beautify this nation, look how dull and drab it is. Let us expand it, cover more ground, and make it a nation were proud of. Trade for wonderful items of different lands, in return for our native valuables, start building more monuments, streets, buildings! Intricate architecture, wealthier living!"

I scanned the Council for their reactions, smiling ever so slightly, my golden eyes shining as if in the distance, I can already see a flourishing land of Altera. My eyes no longer had bags, too drowsy to even blink, but now animated, brewing with life. However, I met them with many pursed lips and disappointed shakes of the head. At this point, I was standing high in my chair at the rediculously enormous round table, but to see such discouraging faces, my eyes lowered, the shine dulling and sunk back in my chair. To my surprise, I saw two, out of the ten members of the Council, smile grinning at each other, then towards me. The PRime Minister spoke first,

"Silence. Eve, you do not have the right to speak at the Council. You may have become a member, but not an official one. You are to stay silent, and watch how us members , make decisions, not you. Safety, is first priority, beauty, comes last. You would not know those things, after all, you are one of the youngest in the Council, only 10 years in human years. Still, I suppose it cannot be helped. You are still naïve and do not know the full responsibilities of being an official."

"O-Okay..."

"What. Whattt?! Oh-ho, nooo. Fuck you, Council! Leave Eve alone! I hate you eternally! Il kill you TWICE. And then another three times!"

Surprised at such a grave insult to the higher-ups, In addition to being stood up for, I searched for the Nasod who was practically yelling at the top of her lungs. To find a young girl about my age with wavy, luxuriant, and voluminous silvery hair, despite this, it seemed unkempt, not often brushed. She had ivory skin, honey coloured eyes, and azure markings just like myself and wore a low-cut suit of black, white, and magenta. She was rather strong-looking, with lean muscles and calves like a puma. Her mouth was placed into a pouty frown, her thing eyebrows furrowing in annoyance. The girl was pretty in an independent, defiant way. Almost exotic.

She gave off an intimidating, taunting aura. But, for some reason, I found emptiness and vulnerability like a turtle, strong exterior, but weak interior, her mentality. I decided not to confront her about it.

"Quiet, Code Q-Proto 00. Your language is quite...vulgar. We only accepted you into the Council because of Apple. Without her, you are nothing."

"That is not true at all, Head Minister. As you may know, I am much too kind, Proto is a perfect contradiction to my kindness and gentle nature. She is strong and will most likely become a valued fighter of Altera, she, and Eve are not nothing."

I glanced beside Proto to find yet another Nasod defending my ways of thinking. Her hair was long and bouncy. A very pretty pinkish colour that reminded me of cotton candy. She had thick front bangs, covering her matching coloured eyes filled with intelligence and innocence. A choker covered her slender swan-like neck, but it seemed to lack something. Her dress was like a princess' from fairytale books that humans had. It was a strapless slight curve neckline dress, flaring out into three frilly tiers, then back in. The first tier was pastel coloured pink, outlined with gold. The second layer was a darker shade of pink, and the last layer below it was like a pencil skirt, of bright coral in colour stripes of magenta and golds. The princess look was wrapped up with a sash of the lightest shade of blush, which I identified as chiffon material.

"Tch, acting all mighty now, Apple? Sit back down, do not oppose me. You are a prodigy, though weak, I can see you as the next Queen rather than...those two."

"Enough." A deep, booming voice thundered throughout the Council Room, slightly rattling at the pens and paper neatly piled up on the desks. Everyone straightened themselves immediately, looking at King Nasod with wary eyes. "We will not speak trash of one another any further. Are we not getting off topic? Know your place, Prime Minister, especially you three, Eve, Apple, and Proto. The three of you are dismissed from this meeting as we make our decision."

Wordlessly, we exited the meeting room, Proto, giving them the middle finger as she walked away, shouting her last parting words, her eyes narrowing,

Damn you, Minister Man!"

I was sure she would get a severe punishment, but King Nasod would not allow it.

"I do not think the three of us have properly met... why did you two stand up for me..? This is the first time..."

Apple smiled at me, "Because I feel that you're a nice person, and that you're right. I was slightly scared at first to speak up though..."

"Because Apple wanted to, so I did too." Proto glanced away, suddenly interested with her nails.

Thoughtfully, I spun around once, before stopping front of them, "Wanna... play with me?"

I scanned their face for their reactions, hesitant at mu straightforwardness. Truthfully I had not made any friends yet, my parents were deceased, and Ophelia never understood the concept of friendship. Oberon, was not any better. Staying cooped up in the mansion without any interaction from others my age had matured me quickly into the Council, something I was not entirely pleased with at all.

"I would be delighted!"

"Fine.. I'll hang with a loser like you, only cuz Apple said so."

And with that, the three of us played many wondrous games. Having Apple and Proto there had been the best time of my life at the time. Sometimes, I felt unwanted by Proto, but Apple would cheer me up, adding that deep inside, Proto really cared about the both of us. It made me surprised, seeing as how caring was an emotion, something I wished to hide, but failed miserably at. Tag, Hide-and-seek, makeovers, we did them all, and I finally had a slice of what friendship was all about. _I was happy._

But, I always insisted that they were just mere friendly acquaintances at the back of my mind. Shoving the thought away as if it were already a fading memory. Apple's smile, Proto's contagious crude humour, we had grown distant from each other, till the point where that's the only things I could remember clearly. We broke off, because I did not keep the friendship alive, I was too busy with the soon to be Queen affairs, not giving them a second glance when I knew I should have. Peer pressure had bested me once again. was sad and lonely once more. Once the war started, I never saw them, never looked for them, never even thought about helping them escape with me.

It was perhaps one of the worst decisions of my life.

_I want them back so badly, my Old Friends..._

I clenched my fists. Not hearing that story before, they were deep in thought,

Aisha started, "You know, they might've awakened just like you, and made their way to King Nasod as well as us!"

"Thank you, Aisha, but it really is a slim chance."

" Better than no chance at all. Besides, when you rebuild your kingdom and race, I'm sure that wherever they are, they'll get to know that you worked hard to achieve your goal, and how much you've chaned for the better. Losing everything, and then gaining everything precious to you and more... It's not impossible, take me for example, my situation is pretty similar if you think about it."

"I suppose so. Thank you."

I dipped my head graciously in thanks, in front of an enormous maze-like building of blue with streaks and veins of plasma and electricity running throughout the perimeter.

"We're here. I suggest that we take a more stealthy approach, there seems to be hundreds of monsters inside this structure. Take caution."

Having done this about a dozen times already, we knew what to do, I pressed the enormous core like object through the center of the building, causing it to glow brightly and move to the side, allowing us entrance. _What poor security, it seems any high-classed Nasod could just enter here as they please, whether they be friend or foe._ I switched on my invisibility along with the others behind me. This building had no floors, just incredibly long, until we reached the end. Middle class quality Nasods milled around, completely armed at all times with tazers, steel blades, guns, and a cold glare. Capsules of many sorts and production lines were by them, along with Nasod workers mass producing poorly made combat Nasods. Disturbed by their lifelessness, even for a Nasod, I looked away, pressing further.

We were now in the middle wing, brewing with higher classes, and even some captains, drawing plans on maps, deciding their next course of action. But that did not matter, now did it? _This ends now._ We moved along in utter silence, all the way into the last wing, where there was a paritcular section sealed off with Authorized Personnel Only. _Why is this so incredibly easy..? Its almost as if they are inviting us in._

**Me: Okay, Yeah, I know. It's been awhile. I went to Japan, then came back, did some Summer Reading (and still not done with it!) and then decided to be a lazy girl with no inspiration. This chapter is significantly shorter than usual, because 1. I just wanted to update 2. 5,000 words would've taken far longer. I just decided to throw Apple and Proto in Eve's more in-depth past description. You know, because I can. I know, this isn't as good, but I just wanted to DO something. I got like three reviews all of a sudden, and I'm just like, WHAT THE F-. After all, a very nice PandaFlute encouraged me to write some more, and my friend WolfDemonz, who I now owe a Soma story to. So, review in the box below if you want, I'll be updating pretty much when I get the ideas. Bye!^^.**


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